Women at the Helm: Ferry Captains

Exhibit Navigation:  Women at the Helm  > Ferry Captains

Scroll down or use the navigation bar at the top to explore the stories of seven female ferry captains on Lake Champlain.

From 1803 to 1811, Jemima operated one of Lake Champlain’s earliest sail ferries from Chimney Point, Vermont, to Crown Point, New York.

Alinda Wells Hutchinson operated a licensed ferry in her own name from Bridport, Vermont, to Crown Point, New York, from 1820-1829. 

Philomene was the first woman in the United States to obtain a license as master and pilot of a steam vessel.

Flora (Duff) Cunningham was the owner of the ferry from Larrabee’s Point, Vermont to Ticonderoga, New York from 1918 to 1946. She transitioned a modest local ferry service into the longest operating ferry on Lake Champlain.

Though she was not a ferry captain, Marjorie Hale Morris assisted with operations of her family’s ferry line between Benson Landing, Vermont and Putnam Station, New York at the turn of the 20th century. The ferry line was operated by her family from 1846-1929. She helped make the difficult decision to close the line after the opening of the Champlain Bridge.

Lake Champlain Transportation (LCT) has been providing regional transportation since 1826. Today, their modern ferries operate year-round under the leadership of a female Operations Manager, with both women and men serving as captains, engineers, and deckhands.

Several LCT captains are pictured together in this 2002 image: (from left to right) Lea Coggio, Beatrice Carr, Heather Stewart, Lee Ann Barrows, Cindy Alsop, and Lauren Hart. Photograph by Clyde H. Smith for Vermont Life Magazine, Volume 57, Issue 2, 2002.