Library of Lake Ontario Resources
The Library of Lake Ontario
The Library of Great Lake Ontario, located in Rochester, NY, includes current, classic and antiquarian volumes on history, government, politics, travel, lifestyle and literature of the Great Lakes region, primarily Lake Ontario.
The geographical focus ranges from the Niagara River frontier to the St. Lawrence River region, with waterfronts in the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec, New York State and the Genesee River Basin. The Library includes volumes on the Erie Canal, Genesee Valley Canal, and selected areas of the US.
The Library maintains the Lake Ontario Shippers & Travelers Inquiry Center, with an electronic database of historical information related to the Library’s focus.
Collected from a variety of research sources, information is available on historical leaders of 19th and 20th century lake commerce, and their shipping companies. There is information on both passenger transit and cargo traffic, and on how commerce was carried out. This includes travelers of significant historical note, the vessels on which they sailed, and their destination ports of call – both historic and contemporary.
Special subject focus is added for specific Great Lake Ontario “legendary characters,” Canadian underground railroad fugitive slave colonies, and Native Americans/First Nation Canadians, primarily of the Iroquois Federation.
The Inquiry Center maintains the PORTS L.O.S.T. Museum Society’s virtual museum of Lake Ontario Shippers & Travelers history and culture. This virtual museum is a digital portal to the collections and archives of Canadian and American museums, libraries, and historical assets around Lake Ontario.
The Library of Great Lake Ontario, located in Rochester, NY, includes current, classic and antiquarian volumes on history, government, politics, travel, lifestyle and literature of the Great Lakes region, primarily Lake Ontario. The geographical focus ranges from the Niagara River frontier to the St. Lawrence River region, with waterfronts in the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec, New York State and the Genesee River Basin. The Library includes volumes on the Erie Canal, Genesee Valley Canal, and selected areas of the US.
Library of
Great Lake Ontario
A selection from the Library’s collection
- Ports on Lake Ontario
- Lake Ontario Space View
- Niagara Frontier
- Maid of the Mist Legend (MP3)
- First Great Lakes lighthouse, 1804
- Schooners Hamilton and Scourge, 1813
- First Great Lakes steamboat, 1816
- Rush-Bagot Pact 1817
- Major Shipping Companies on Lake Ontario, 1822-1950
- Great Lakes Merchant Schooner Fleet, 1822
- Canadian Irish Immigrants 1825 (mp3)
- William Lyon MacKenzie, 1838
- Royal Mail Line, 1851
- Cross Lake Passage, 1851
- Lake Touring, Niagara to Thousand Islands, 1879
- Shipping Magnate from Picton, 1885
- Between Two Shores, 1892
- Excursions Along New York Shores, 1895
- Luxury Lake Travel, the "Night Boats," 1899
- Richelieu & Ontario Co. 1910 (OL book)
- Smuggling Across Lake Ontario, 1920-1933
- A Rum War on Lake Ontario
- The Cobourg Ferry, to 1950
- Lake Ontario Luxury Cruising 2001(WIN video)
- Lake Ontario Luxury Cruising 2001(MAC video)
- CanAm Organics Policy, 2009 (mp3)
- Life Beyond Here: 100 Years on Lake Ontario
- Black Canadian History
- Lake History Directory
Program Friends – Great Lake Ontario
- Kingston Harbour at St. Lawrence River, ON
- Prince Edward County Historical Society
- Port Oswego at Oswego River, NY
- Sodus Point Lighthouse, NY
- Port Charlotte at Genesee River, NY
- Manhattan Square Yacht Club, NY
- Point Breeze Lighthouse, NY
- Hamilton & Scourge National Historic Site, ON
- Niagara 1812 Legacy Council, ON
- Welland Museum, ON
- Hastings Co. Agricultural Heritage, ON
- O’Hara Mill Homestead, ON
- Province of Ontario Archives
- Canada Search & Rescue Maritime History
- Great Lakes Restoration Conference
- Coburg Museum Sifton-Cook Centre, Cobourg
- St. Catherines Museum and Welland Canals Centre, CAN
- Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame, ON