However, in the eyes of many aficionados, the finest of all the early wood and canvas canoes were manufactured in the little town of Veazie, exactly midway between the two better known cities, by the B.N.Īlthough Morris was not the first to market canvas-covered canoes, it was among the first to distribute through a system of dealerships. White and Guy Carlton had head starts on an eventual giant, Old Town Canoe, which would quickly dominate the business. The building was four stories high, with a different aspect of canoe construction completed on each floor. Can you post some pictures of the serial numbers from each end of your canoe and some pictures of the interior to help confirm this? Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.Initially, canoes were built in a shop behind the Morris family home in Veazie, Maine.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. A scan showing the build record can be found by following the link at the attached thumbnail image below. It shipped on March 26th, 1917 to Valley Park, Missouri. It was built between December, 1916 and March, 1917. (Regular or middle) grade with open spruce gunwales, ash decks, ash thwarts, ash seats, a keel, and a floor rack. This is a 17 foot long Carleton model in Reg. My guess is that you have the Carleton canoe. The Kennebec appears to have half ribs which aren't clearly visible on yours. The Old Town has closed gunwales as shown in the build record that Greg posted so that doesn't match the open gunwales shown in your picture. The Old Town, Carleton, and Kennebec canoes with serial number 12801 are all 17 feet long. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions. See to learn more about the WCHA and to join. I hope that you will join or renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. A description of the project to preserve these records is available at if you want more details. This scan and several hundred thousand others were created with substantial grants from the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) and others.

A scan of this build record can be found by following the link behind the thumbnail image attached below. It was shipped to Plattsburgh, New York on May 21, 1910. Also ordered were two number 2 spruce paddles (5’ and 5’6” in length) and a slat seat back. The original exterior was painted dark blue, with a gold strip and something else that I cannot decipher.

It was built between November 1909 and April 1910. The Old Town canoe with serial number 12801 is a 17 foot long, CS (common sense or standard) grade HW (hravy wateer) model with red western cedar planking, spruce gunwales and ash decks, seats, and thwarts, spruce finish rails, outside stems and equipped with a keel.

Old Town Canoe Serial Number