4) The steamboat
Before the inauguration of the Montreal-Quebec railway in 1879, the steamboat is one of the most important means of transportation for Terrebonne, both to carry goods and people. The first "steamer" rides the Mille-Îles River (back then called Jesus River) as early as 1820. In 1856, the Société de navigation de Terrebonne inaugurates the steamer called "Terrebonne." Weighing more than 350,000 pounds , it is nearly forty metres in length.
The steamboat provides daily trips to Montreal. It also serves the cities of Lachenaie, Saint-Paul-l'Ermite, l'Assomption, le Bout de l'Île, Varennes, and Boucherville. It greatly contributed to the development of tourism in the Terrebonne area. One of its pilots, Captain Louis-Hilarion Roy, was also from Terrebonne.