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Canoes: A Natural History in North America

Mark Neuzil and Norman Sims

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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

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Published: 2016

Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

ISBN(s)

9780816681174 (hardcover)

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

Benson Gray

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

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

Illustrated cover of Carleton Canoe catalog.

Carleton Canoe Catalog

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

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

The Old Town Canoe Company celebrated the end of the First World War in 1919 with a military-themed catalog cover.

End of World War I

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

The Old Town Canoe Company celebrated the end of the First World War in 1919 with a military-themed catalog cover.

A before-and-after restoration of a 1927 Carleton canoe, which was built in the Old Town Canoe Company factory. Using the Old Town “build record,” the canoe was restored to the same colors and condition as the original. Restoration by Tom Seavey.

Carleton Canoe Restoration - Before

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

A before-and-after restoration of a 1927 Carleton canoe, which was built in the Old Town Canoe Company factory. Using the Old Town “build record,” the canoe was restored to the same colors and condition as the original. Restoration by Tom Seavey.

A before-and-after restoration of a 1927 Carleton canoe, which was built in the Old Town Canoe Company factory. Using the Old Town “build record,” the canoe was restored to the same colors and condition as the original. Restoration by Tom Seavey.

Carleton Canoe Restoration - After

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

A before-and-after restoration of a 1927 Carleton canoe, which was built in the Old Town Canoe Company factory. Using the Old Town “build record,” the canoe was restored to the same colors and condition as the original. Restoration by Tom Seavey.

Rollin Thurlow working in his shop at Northwoods Canoe Company in Atkinson, Maine. Thurlow restores old wood-and-canvas canoes and builds his own Atkinson Traveler canoes along with new Morris, Rushton, and E. M. White boats.

Rollin Thurlow

From Chapter 5: Wood-and-Canvas Canoes

Rollin Thurlow working in his shop at Northwoods Canoe Company in Atkinson, Maine. Thurlow restores old wood-and-canvas canoes and builds his own Atkinson Traveler canoes along with new Morris, Rushton, and E. M. White boats.

A worker at Old Town Canoes puts the finishing touches on a fiberglass model.

Old Town Fiberglass Canoes

From Chapter 6: Synthetic Canoes

A worker at Old Town Canoes puts the finishing touches on a fiberglass model.

A photograph of a small wooden studio on the water. A shelf in the bottom corner holds a canoe.

Writer's Block Studio

From Chapter 6: Synthetic Canoes

On Westport Island, Maine, the Writer’s Block studio doubles as a boat house.

A black-and-white photograph of a figure making paddles.

Old Town Canoe Paddles

From Sidebar: Paddles

Paddles were all handmade in classic shapes at the Old Town Canoe Company factory.

Joe Mell, a Passamaquoddy Indian, sleeps under his canoe on Duck Lake, Maine, ca. 1895.

Joe Mell

From Chapter 8: Canoe Tripping

Joe Mell, a Passamaquoddy Indian, sleeps under his canoe on Duck Lake, Maine, ca. 1895.

Portrait of Henry David Thoreau in 1854 by Samuel Worcester Rouse. Thoreau was 39 years old in this portrait.

Henry David Thoreau

From Chapter 8: Canoe Tripping

Samuel Worcester Rouse, Portrait of Henry David Thoreau, 1854. Thoreau was thirty-nine years old at the time of this drawing.

A black-and-white photograph of Pockwockamus Falls on the West Branch of the Penobscot River, 1915.

Pockwockamus Falls

From Chapter 8: Canoe Tripping

Thoreau’s canoe route through Maine included Pockwockamus Falls on the West Branch of the Penobscot River, seen here in a 1915 photograph by Burt Call.