Throughout the rest of the 19th-century, the popularity of the Island increased. Competition abounded - there were 47 ferries operating in the Harbour in the 1850s. With no links to the mainland, ferries proliferated, with most being paddle steamers operated by individual owners. Eventually, two competing ferry companies came into being: the Turner Ferry Company and A.J. Tymon's Island Ferry Company. The assets of the Turner Ferry Company (founded 1882) were bought by the John Doty Engine & Ferry Company, which in turn merged with A.J. Tymon's Island Ferry Company in 1892 to form the Toronto Ferry Company.