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The Steam Ship Marquette 1879 – 1888 was the first Steam Ship to navigate the Assiniboine River.  
 
She departed from Winnipeg at 2:00 pm. May 10th 1879 and docked at Fort Ellice on the following Sunday May 18th at 8:45 am.  
 
Later in May 1881 she carried to the Grand Valley Village some of the first settlers to establish homes in the Northwest.  
 
About twenty-eight people were on this inaugural journey and signed a statement of appreciation of the fine trip. Their expectations were that a town would grow at this site, and that it “is likely indeed to become one of the great cities of the continent.”  
 
This Steam Ship was built for Mr. Peter Macarthur, (a pioneer entrepreneur) in Moorhead, Minnesota. She measured 125 feet in length, by 30 feet wide, and had a 4-foot hold.  
 
Her engine had 12-inch diameter pistons with a 50-inch stroke. She had a cargo capability of 170 tons, and cabin accommodation for fifty passengers, but could carry up to 350 with Deck Class.  
 
The Marquette was considered the most popular of the River Boat fleet that plied the Assiniboine River between 1879 and 1882. She made her last trip on the Assiniboine in 1882, after which she was used on the Red River between Winnipeg, and the region around Selkirk until 1888.  
 
Note: Fort Ellice was located about two miles from where the village of St. Lazare now stands.  
 
Source: Brandon a City by G. F. Barker.  
Steam Boats of the Assiniboine by Roy Brown.