I knew steamboats were common on bigger rivers between cities, but I didn't expect to find out that there were steamboats on a small rural river between a town and two villages in southern Québec. I wonder how long it must have taken for the 30 km trip.
This boat must have been rendered obsolete by two railway lines running parallel on each side of the river, which are also now both abandoned.
For context, in red, the itinerary of the steamboat, and in brown, the abandoned railways.
I'm not familiar with Quebec, but I grew up near a big river town featuring a riverboat festival. I remember seeing a picture (photo or painting, not sure) of a paddle boat shooting a rapid. They got around!
Shooting the rapids in a paddle boat sounds like a pretty good time!