The Lakes Region was settled in the 1850's, and by 1884 small towns and two railroads had reached the area as hotels rose around the lakes and swing bridges were built for steamboat navigation. In a road-poor region, communities, hotels, and cottage owners depended on steamships for reliable transportation, with railroad-built vessels running on schedules that matched arriving and departing trains. Small craft served routes from West Okoboji Lake to the Orleans Hotel on the isthmus between Spirit Lake and East Okoboji Lake, while larger ships operated mostly on West Okoboji Lake, and riders could signal stops at their docks by waving a white flag or towel. By World War I, better roads reduced the need for steamships. The steamship Okoboji left service in 1922, and by the 1930's the last two smaller steamships, the Des Moines and the Sioux City, had also been retired, leaving only the Queen. After the swing bridges were removed, the Queen was limited to West Okoboji Lake and became an excursion boat rather than a transportation boat, remaining in service until 1973. In 1986, the Iowa Great Lakes Maritime Museum, a not-for-profit organization, sought donations to build the Queen II, a replica of the 1884 Queen, and steamship excursions on West Okoboji Lake continue as a cherished tradition.