In what year was the original 'Maid of the Mist' first used for the Niagara Falls boat tour?

The Maid of the Mist is a boat tour of Niagara Falls, New York, US. (The actual boats used are also named Maid of the Mist, followed by a different Roman numeral in each case.) The boat starts off at a calm part of the Niagara River, near the Rainbow Bridge, and takes its passengers past the American and Bridal Veil Falls, then into the dense mist of spray inside the curve of the Horseshoe Falls, also known as the Canadian Falls. The tour is available starting from the American side of the river, returning to the U.S. landing.

The original Maid of the Mist was built at a landing near Niagara Falls on the American side of the border. The boat was christened in 1846, but interestingly, not for sightseeing. The two-stage barge-like steamer was designed primarily as a link for a proposed ferry service between New York City and York (Toronto, Canada). It was a 72-foot-long side-wheeler with an 18-foot beam which was powered by steam produced from a wood- and coal-fired boiler. It was designed to carry a stagecoach and four horses without unhitching the horses.

The ferry did well until 1848, when the opening of a suspension bridge between the United States and Canada cut into the ferry traffic. It was then that the owners decided to make the journey a sightseeing trip, plotting a journey closer to the Falls.