Canoes: A Natural History in North America

J. Henry Rushton listed the Nessmuk in his 1907 catalog under the heading, “Feather-Weight Canoes.”

The Wee Lassie canoe was made in 1893 by J. H. Rushton for William West Durant of Raquette Lake, New York.

Frederic Remington illustration of a Rushton American Traveling Canoe.

The Grasse River sweeps by the Rushton Boat Shop, the white building at back left, during a flood in 1885.

This Rushton pack canoe, displayed at the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum, was one of many lightweight small boats he made for hunters and sportsmen.

This craft was built ca. 1881–83 and is probably the oldest American-built decked sailing canoe in existence.

A decked sailing canoe dated 1882–85 owned by the Adirondack Museum.

Roy Roy canoe, as illustrated by Nathaniel Bishop in his Voyage of the Paper Canoe, published in 1878.

Nautilus canoe, as illustrated by Nathaniel Bishop in his Voyage of the Paper Canoe, published in 1878.

Maria Theresa canoe, as illustrated by Nathaniel Bishop in his Voyage of the Paper Canoe, published in 1878. Bishop paddled 2,500 miles in Maria Theresa.

The St. Lawrence Canoe Club tent at the ACA meeting on Grindstone Island in 1886. J. H. Rushton is the short, bearded man standing in the center; his wife Leah is seated next to him.

An 1881 gathering of canoeists on Canoe Island in Lake George, New York.

A woman races in a solo open canoe class in 1922 at a regatta in Chemong Park just north of Peterborough.

Walter Stewart sails Pearl at the American Canoe Association meeting in 1886. Stewart was an admirer of American-built canoes.

Bob Lavertue in command of the late 19th century all-wood sailing canoe Pretty Jane at the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association assembly at Paul Smith’s, New York, in 2012.

American Canoe Association founding member William Alden and his original canoe Shadow at the ACA gathering on Lake George in 1881.

In this photograph titled “The Canoe, The Cup and The Captor,” R. W. Gibson poses with the International Challenge Cup, which he won in the Rushton Vesper that he had designed, August 26, 1885.

An all-wood decked sailing canoe with a double sail rig on display at the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, New York.

Rushton and his staff pose for a photograph outside the three-story boat shop in Canton, New York, ca. 1880s.

Two Nomad decked sailing canoes under construction at the Rushton boat shop, ca. 1900.