Ca. 1904 colorized photograph of Adam's steamboat and launch on Canobie Lake
When Canobie Lake Park opened on the Salem shore of Canobie Lake in 1902, summer camps had begun to spring up on the Windham and Salem sides of Canobie Lake. At the turn of the century, summer vacationers still had the choice of either Granite State Grove on the Windham shore, or the newly built trolley park across the lake. To make their way around the 1.5 mile long lake, summer campers would often have to make the trek on foot, save for the few who may have had an automobile during that early period. While not a particularly daunting journey, a trip around the lake would have been a bit more than a short walk for many, and in the heat of the summer probably not an enjoyable one. That all changed in 1904 when an enterprising man from Lawrence, MA opened his own steamboat launch on Canobie Lake. Captain Robert J. Adams was a 73 year old Irish immigrant who lived with his wife on Stevens Court in Lawrence. Adams had emigrated from Ireland in 1868; his wife Mary left Ireland for America just two years later. Mr. Adams may have been striving to achieve his own version of the American dream as early census records list his occupation as "own income." This designation among pages of neighbors employed in the trades was certainly not very common.
In 1904, Adams' entrepreneurial spirit drove him to build and operate his own steam launch on Canobie Lake. Adams likely saw the opening of the new Canobie Lake Park and the scores of new summer camps being built on the shores of the lake as an opening for a business venture never attempted before on the lake. That year Adams brought the first steamboat to the lake, a small boat capable of carrying a dozen or so passengers. During the summer Adams would pilot his boat around the lake, picking up and dropping off passengers wherever they needed to stop. Not only did his service drastically cut down on the time required to get around the lake, but it also offered a scenic boat ride. It's likely this was the first steamboat seen by many of the summer vacationers and residents of Windham and Salem. Unfortunately, Adams' steamboat service may not have been a great success as he did not operate for long. However, thanks to a summer vacationer eager to document his vacation in photographs, we are fortunate to have the photograph shown above as a reminder of an entrepreneurial Irish immigrant and summers at Canobie Lake at the turn of the twentieth century.
In 1904, Adams' entrepreneurial spirit drove him to build and operate his own steam launch on Canobie Lake. Adams likely saw the opening of the new Canobie Lake Park and the scores of new summer camps being built on the shores of the lake as an opening for a business venture never attempted before on the lake. That year Adams brought the first steamboat to the lake, a small boat capable of carrying a dozen or so passengers. During the summer Adams would pilot his boat around the lake, picking up and dropping off passengers wherever they needed to stop. Not only did his service drastically cut down on the time required to get around the lake, but it also offered a scenic boat ride. It's likely this was the first steamboat seen by many of the summer vacationers and residents of Windham and Salem. Unfortunately, Adams' steamboat service may not have been a great success as he did not operate for long. However, thanks to a summer vacationer eager to document his vacation in photographs, we are fortunate to have the photograph shown above as a reminder of an entrepreneurial Irish immigrant and summers at Canobie Lake at the turn of the twentieth century.