Postwar economic expansion allowed Haligonians to experiment with technological innovation including modernization of the harbour ferry service to Dartmouth. Improvement was first promised in 1815 when local entrepreneurs founded the Halifax Steamboat Company. Unfortunately, they failed to raise the capital required to buy a steamer and instead had to improvise with a so-called "team-boat." This craft consisted of twin hulls driven by a centre-mounted paddlewheel which in turn drew its power from eight horses moving around a capstan. After years of slow and irregular service the team-boat was eventually replaced in 1830 by the Sir Charles Ogle, the first steamer built in Nova Scotia. The vessel fascinated local citizens who turned out in thousands to view the launching of a craft capable of "moving without sails." The new ferry with its thirty horsepower engine could make four harbour crossings an hour; its predecessor had often failed to make four crossings a day. While subject to occasional breakdowns the Sir Charles Ogle proved durable and was still in operation in the 1880s when this photograph was taken.
Once introduced to steam navigation, Haligonians became mesmerized with the possibilities of the new technology. Within a year they were investing in a steamer to run to Quebec. Plans for trans Atlantic service followed and by the mid 1830s local citizens were discussing the possibility of building steam railroads into the interior.
