Canoes: A Natural History in North America

George Washington Sears was an early staff writer at Forest and Stream, one of the most popular outdoor periodicals of its day.

Shipments of Old Town canoes arrived wrapped in straw and burlap at Shenk & Tittle, a sporting goods store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Dozens of newly finished canoes were stored on the roof of The Old Town Canoe Company factory.

The George A. Gray hardware store of Old Town, Maine, in 1906. George Gray stands at the far left.

The labels of Abiel Bickmore’s salve and powder that cured sores on work horses. The Bickmore powder, backed in 1884 by Herbert and George Gray, gave the Gray family national distribution experience that they used in marketing canoes.

The Old Town Canoe factory. Note the wrapped canoes awaiting shipment near the railroad.

An illustrated view of the Old Town factory appeared in the company catalogs.

Kennebec Canoe Catalog cover.

Finishing work was done by hand on canoes built at the Old Town factory during the 1920s and 30s.

Prior to varnishing, Old Town employees used a vacuum system to remove dirt and debris that was left over from sanding, ca. 1922.

Benson Gray, a historian with the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association, is a member of the Gray family, founders of the Old Town Canoe Company.

When this Carleton Canoe catalog cover was published in 1924, Carleton canoes were built in the Old Town factory.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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