Scenic Tourism on the Northeastern Borderland: Lake Memphremagog's Steamboat Excursions and Resort Hotels, 1850-1900

Lacking the salt-water beaches, accessible mineral springs, and rugged mountains that attracted the first tourists to the northeastern United States, the Vermont–Quebec borderland did boast a number of clear and picturesque bodies of water, the largest of which was Lake Memphremagog. The author points out that once this lake became accessible by rail, American and Canadian promotional literature and graphic illustrations emphasized the romantic nature of its paddle-wheel excursions, scenic landscape, and resort hotels. He argues that this type of tourism was depicted as essentially a passive, civilizing experience in which participants affirmed their aesthetic sensibility and social status by admiring the view of lake and mountains from boat decks and hotel verandahs. However, the author notes that the exclusive nature of this romantic sensibility was undermined to some extent by the fact that local newspapers and railway companies encouraged groups of people from the surrounding communities to join the sight seeing tours. Local entrepreneurs were also quick to take advantage of the market for scenery and, in contrast to other tourist zones, there was no apparent conflict with the industrial development that was taking place at both ends of the lake.

Journal of Historical Geography

Vol. 35

no. 4

716-742

October 2009

en