Editing Prescott, Ontario (section)

===Transport industry===
{{See also|Bytown and Prescott Railway}}

Prescott's harbour developed considerably in the early 19th century, supporting the growing [[Great Lakes shipping]] industry. It became notable for its [[Freight forwarder|freight forwarding]] businesses, as local forwarders shuttled Great Lakes freight between Prescott and Montreal. This was commemorated at the Forwarders' Museum, which was housed in a building originally constructed in the 1820s by local forwarder William Gilkinson.<ref name=forwarding-plaque>{{cite web |url=https://www.heritagetrust.on.ca/en/plaques/forwarding-trade-at-prescott |title=Forwarding Trade at Prescott, The |publisher=[[Ontario Heritage Trust]] |access-date=29 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.recorder.ca/news/local-news/forwarders-museum-may-be-history |title=Forwarder's Museum may be history |first=Wayne |last=Lowrie |date=6 March 2019 |newspaper=Brockville Recorder & Times |access-date=29 March 2021}}</ref>

By the mid-19th century, however, the forwarding industry began to decline. Navigability of the Saint Lawrence had improved, allowing more Great Lakes ships to reach Montreal directly.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/cgq/1967-v11-n23-cgq2597/020728ar.pdf |title=The St. Lawrence Ship Channel, 1805–1865 |first=Nora |last=Corley |date=1967 |journal=Cahiers de géographie du Québec |publisher=Department of Geography, [[Université Laval]] |volume=11 |number=23 |pages=277–306 |doi=10.7202/020728ar |issn=0007-9766}}</ref>{{rp|293}} Soon, Upper Canada experienced a railway boom, which provided competition for the maritime shipping industry.<ref name=ashdown />{{rp|18}} The [[Bytown and Prescott Railway]] began operating in 1854, connecting Prescott to [[Bytown]] (now [[Ottawa]]).<ref name=churcher-2005>{{cite magazine |title=The First Railway in Ottawa |first=Colin J. |last=Churcher |magazine=Branchline |publisher=Bytown Railway Society |volume=44 |number=2 |editor-first=Earl W. |editor-last=Roberts |url=https://bytownrailwaysociety.ca/phocadownload/branchline/2005/2005-02.pdf |date=February 2005 |pages=6–9 |issn=0824-233X}}</ref>{{rp|7}} This was followed by the construction of the [[Grand Trunk Railway]] mainline between Toronto and Montreal, which connected to the Bytown and Prescott Railway at Prescott Junction.<ref name=churcher-2003>{{cite magazine |title=Break of Gauge at Prescott Junction |first=Colin J. |last=Churcher |magazine=Branchline |publisher=Bytown Railway Society |volume=42 |number=6 |editor-first=Earl W. |editor-last=Roberts |url=https://bytownrailwaysociety.ca/phocadownload/branchline/2003/2003-06.pdf |date=June 2003 |page=16 |issn=0824-233X}}</ref> With parallel railway development occurring across the river in Ogdensburg, [[train ferry|railway car ferry]] services began between the two towns,<ref name=ashdown>{{Ashdown-Railway-Steamships}}</ref>{{rp|18}} which later evolved into the Canadian Pacific Car and Passenger Transfer Company.<ref name=ashdown />{{rp|93}} Freight traffic declined abruptly during the [[Great Depression]], though a recovery took place after the outbreak of the [[Second World War]]. Traffic volumes slowly declined again after the war, and ferry service ended entirely in the early 1970s.<ref name=ashdown />{{rp|97}}