In 1809, brewer John Molson (1763-1836) purchased the steamboat, Accommodation, marking the beginning of steam navigation on the St.Lawrence River. By 1818 the St. Lawrence Steamboat Co., or the Molson Line, as it was popularly known, possessed seven ships in its fleet. Steam navigation on the St. Lawrence made rapid strides in the third decade of the nineteenth century. A competitor ro the St. Lawrence Steamboat Co., the John Torance & Co. of Montreal, also started running a steamboat between Quebec and Montreal in 1826. Molson tried to secure a monopoly from the government over the steamboat business on the St. Lawrence River, but his efforts were in vain. In 1845 the Richelieu Steamboat Co. was formed and there was intense competition amongst the various steamship businesses for the lucrative St. Lawrence River market. This rivalry finally gave way and the bulk of the business fell to the Richelieu Steamboat Co. In 1911, the St. Lawrence Steamboat Co. was one of several companies absorbed into the Richelieu and Ontario Navigation Company.