Steamship.
Details of Site Location: Remnants of this ship may still exist at Lewiston, U.S.A., but the possibility is remote in the extreme.
Historical Description: The Cibola was a metal paddled steamship that plied the route between Toronto and Lewiston, New York, for the Niagara Navigation Company. Her 1888 builders were the following: designer Robert Morton of Glasgow; steel hull by the Dalzell Company of Scotland; marine engines by Rankin, Blackmore and Company of Greenock, Scotland; hull erected by W. White and Company of Montreal; woodwork by the famous Rathbun Lumber Company of Deseronto; mahogany and decorative work by William Wright and Company of Detroit; and fitting of electric lights by the Edison Company of New York. She was 260′ in length and 11′ 6″ wide. Similar in design to the fastest steamers on the Clyde River, she had a hull divided into five watertight bulkheads. The salon was finished in solid mahogany and fitted throughout with electric lights. Above the main stairway hung a chandelier of pierced brass with jewelled openings around clusters of lights. She was a floating palace. Her first commanding officer was Captain McCorquodale. Her name is Spanish in origin, like that of her sister ship. When the Spanish took a southern American Indian chief to Spain, the King gave the chief the land east of the Mississippi River: Chicora, meaning land of the flowers. When this territory was extended westward, it crossed the river Cibola, meaning land of the buffalo. These Indian names were taken for the sister ships of the Niagara Navigation Company. The Indian chief, who was a Chippewa, was dubbed by the Spanish king Don Francesco de Chicora. Because he was a Chippewa, the name of his people was attached to another ship of the line. The Cibola was destroyed by fire at Lewiston in 1895 while lying in port.
Relative Importance: For many years, passenger traffic on ships of the Great Lakes was at a peak, but recreational trips and holidays did not become popular until the age of steam. The luxury steamers, of which the Cibola was one of the finest, were much prized and admired by all, and they represent a more gracious period in Toronto’s history. This period waned and finally stopped when the Port of Toronto was taken over for industrial and commercial uses and shipping.
Planning Implications: A memorial to all of the lost luxury ships, including the Cibola, should have a prominent place on the waterfront.
Reference Sources: John Ross Robertson, Landmarks of Toronto (Vol. 2); City of Toronto Archives.
Acknowledgements: Ontario Archaeological Society, Toronto Branch.