Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Canoe |
Date |
1941-1941 |
Artist |
Old Town Canoe Company |
Maker |
Old Town Canoe Co., Old Town, Maine |
Material |
Canvas/Wood/Brass/Cane |
Used |
Essex Co./Paradox Lake |
Description |
25 ft. Old Town War Canoe built in Maine. (Serial #129859). It has one 30 1/2" deck (other missing) and one caned seat in stern. Five thwarts supported on the keelson by parts, and five plank seats. Outside keel 3/4" X 1" deep. Brass stembands fore and aft. Open gunwales. Canvas and paint finish. Original dark green color. Length: 25' Beam: 43" Weight:160 lbs. Owner acquired with property of Camp Paradox for Boys (Paradox Lake); boat was originally built for Camp Nawita. Extra-long canoes like this one initially became popular as club canoes in Canada in the late 1890s among men who like canoe racing but could not afford to own their own boats. Named "war canoes" in reference to supposed Native American traditions, were soon adopted by children's camps. "Boys' and girls' summer camps…are hardly complete now without one or more war canoes. They are always available for groups to go off on picnics and excursions even of several days' duration. Nothing is better in training for teamwork or unity of action and nothing is prettier than the even, rhythmic sweep of a dozen or more paddlers driving a war canoe with lusty strokes at top speed," wrote the Old Town Canoe Company. In 1910 they claimed that one of its 35-foot war canoes had beaten every launch it had encountered in short sprints on a lake in New Hampshire. 25-foot boats were paddled by six to eleven campers. |
Notes |
25' x 43", 160 lbs. Used at a Jewish camp called Camp Nawita; then at Camp Paradox, on Paradox Lake in the Schroon Lake area. |
Dimensions |
H-2.167 W-3.583 L-25 feet |
Collection |
BBB120 |
Catalog Number |
1999.008.0001 |
Imagefile |
079\1999.008.0001.JPG |
Species |
Canoe |
Owned by |
Camp Paradox |
Credit line |
Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Leo Friedman |