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Canoes: A Natural History in North America

Mark Neuzil and Norman Sims

Overview

This is the story of the canoe, that singular American artifact so little changed over time. Featured here are canoes old and new, from birch bark to dugout to carbon fiber; the people who made them; and the adventures they shared. With features of technology, industry, art, and survival, the canoe carries us deep into the natural and cultural history of North America.

Follow author Mark Neuzil on Twitter: @mrneuzil

Citable Link

Published: 2016

Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

ISBN(s)

9780816681174 (hardcover)

Subject

Resources

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E. M. White Company catalog cover from 1915 showing a courting canoe.

E. M. White Catalog

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

E. M. White Company catalog cover from 1915 showing a courting canoe.

This 16-foot “Comfort Craft” courting canoe was built by the Peterborough Canoe Company in 1904. Also known as the “Girling Canoe,” it came equipped with lockers under the side decks for a phonograph and records. The front seat faced the stern of the canoe.

"Girling Canoe"

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

This 16-foot “Comfort Craft” courting canoe was built by the Peterborough Canoe Company in 1904. Also known as the “Girling Canoe,” it came equipped with lockers under the side decks for a phonograph and records. The front seat faced the stern of the canoe.

Cover from sheet music for “In My Canoe,” a song written by Bobby Jones and Chick Story, published by O. E. Story in 1913.

In My Canoe

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

Cover from sheet music for “In My Canoe,” a song written by Bobby Jones and Chick Story, published by O. E. Story in 1913.

Courting on Grand Canal in Belle Isle Park in the Detroit River, with Detroit, Michigan, on one side and Windsor, Ontario, on the other, ca. 1900. Note the Victrola mounted in the canoe in the foreground.

Belle Isle Park Courting

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

Courting on Grand Canal in Belle Isle Park in the Detroit River, with Detroit, Michigan, on one side and Windsor, Ontario, on the other, ca. 1900. Note the Victrola mounted in the canoe in the foreground.

A wood-and-canvas courting canoe built by R. C. Robinson with mahogany extended decks. The forward thwart served only as a backrest for the woman, who sat facing her man in the stern. The long decks were handsome and pushed the couple closer together.

Courting Canoe

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

A wood-and-canvas courting canoe built by R. C. Robinson with mahogany extended decks. The forward thwart served only as a backrest for the woman, who sat facing her man in the stern. The long decks were handsome and pushed the couple closer together.

A photograph of hundreds of canoeists crowded in the water, saluting with oars.

Charles River

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

On July 12, 1919, hundreds of canoeists saluted “The Star Spangled Banner” during a band concert at the Riverside Recreation Grounds on the Charles River in Weston, Massachusetts.

A photographic postcard of a couple "canoedling" on the Charles River.

"Canoedling" Postcard

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

The Charles River at Newton, Massachusetts became one of the most popular waterways for “canoedling” among young people during the early twentieth century.

A photographic postcard of a couple "canoedling."

"Canoedling" Craze

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

Early postcards documented the scandalous “canoedling” craze that took place on lakes and rivers throughout the Midwest and Eastern United States.

Illustrated cover of sheet music for While We Drift Along.

While We Drift Along

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

Music publishers capitalized on the popularity of courting canoes in the 1920s with songs like “While We Drift Along” by Harry D. Squires.