The Steamer Camelia

Around 1900, when the residents of New Orleans wanted to get away to the country for a day or a weekend, they often turned to the steamer Camelia, one of several passenger vessels to ply the waters of Lake Pontchartrain over the years before the causeway was built. 

Here are two accounts of the steamer Camelia (and the New Camelia) provided by David Carambat and Dr. C. Howard Nichols. 

Click on the images below for a larger and more readable view. 

"St. Tammany Farmer, 30 November, 1878; 

Owing to low water, the steamer NEW CAMELIA was delayed the previous Thursday, arriving at Old Landing around nine that night. The postmistress, Mrs. Dumas, who was about to retire for the night, immediately distributed the mail when it arrived. The editor thought this service deserved honorable mention" (Schooners and Scows, Donna Burge Adams, 1988)

For more information about the Camelia lake steamer, CLICK HERE

Below is a collection of photographs of the New Camelia from Denis Bechac

 

 

Exhibit diorama at Mandeville Trailhead Museum

See also:

Excursion Boat Memories

The Life and Death of the New Camelia Lake Steamer