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41:. The company had its beginnings in 1898, in buildings constructed in 1890 for a shoe business, and was incorporated in 1901. Old Town entered the canoe market as a builder of canvas-covered wooden canoes. In the latter half of the 20th century, the company adopted more modern materials to maintain competitiveness. The company's plant was located along the
80:, the Grays were not canoe builders themselves, but were entrepreneurs who hired others to design and build their canoes. The Old Town factory on Middle Street was purchased on October 23, 1901 by brothers Herbert and George Gray along with George Richardson. It was run as a family business until 1974.
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Old Town’s trademark wood and canvas canoes have never gone out of production, although they are no longer built at Old Town Canoe. With the closing of the factory at Old Town, Maine, the company contracted with Island Falls Canoe, owned by Jerry
Stelmok of Atkinson, to build and maintain its wooden
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The original plant buildings were abandoned after the company moved out, leaving empty buildings lined with asbestos that were difficult to sell. In the end, city officials decided the cost of rehabilitating the complex was too prohibitive and the decision was made to demolish the buildings. The city
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In 1910, Old Town purchased the
Carleton Boat and Canoe Company. When the Carleton factory on South Main Street in Old Town burned on May 17, 1911, all of their canoe building was consolidated with Old Town Canoe. Old Town continued to print Carleton catalogs and sell Carleton canoes into the early
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and bark canoes in the 1870s and "appears to be the only one of the batteaux and/or bark builders who switched to building canvas canoes and as such was the only one who brought any previous boat building experience to the industry." In addition to White and
Carleton, there were several smaller
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on the floor of the canoe at each end. Build records contain specific information regarding construction of each boat or canoe, including the dates each part of the build-process was accomplished, the date it was shipped and its final destination.
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manufacturing was added to the production facility as part of the parent company's consolidation and streamlining efforts. Old Town was to gain 48 jobs as the parent company cut an estimated 90 in its hometown of Racine, Wisconsin.
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210,999 or less has been scanned and can be accessed by providing the number either to Wooden Canoe
Heritage Association volunteers online or by contacting the Old Town company. A serial number is located on the upper face of the
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In 1917, Old Town entered the sportfishing market with the introduction of a square-sterned model for the "detachable motor" that was gaining popularity. By 1923, they became the first distributor of
Johnson outboard motors.
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Benson Gray, a descendant of the founders of Old Town Canoe, leads a tour of canoes on the green at the Annual
Assembly of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association, which featured Old Town's contributions to canoeing in
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In 1905 a court dispute, Old Town Canoe v. William C. Chestnut, was heard over whether enticements to immigrate were given to skilled canoe laborers from Old Town who went to Canada's
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companies building canvas-covered canoes in the town of Old Town when the Old Town
Company began its venture. Carleton and White were later bought by the Old Town Canoe Company.
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Kelly
Grindle, vice president for marine electronics and watercraft at Johnson Outdoors, in an article by Haskell, Meg, “Old Town Canoe Celebrates Expansion, Move to New Site,
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The first canoe built by Old Town Canoe was constructed in 1898 behind the Gray hardware store in Old Town, Maine. Unlike the pioneering canoe businesses established by
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to help move the project forward. An extensive photographic record will be sent to the Maine
Historic Preservation Commission. Demolition began in March 2014.
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canoe manufacturer. It was the leading manufacturer in the world before competitors such as
Grumman pressured it by adopting aluminum for manufacture after
99:. White's brother-in-law, E.L. Hinckley, became his working partner and provided the capital to open a large shop in Old Town, employing several men. The
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The Old Town Canoe Company "is one of the few Maine businesses to have achieved legendary status nationally". Old Town was featured by the
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in canoe manufacture (called "Oltonar" by Old Town for many years), an ABS composite plastic. This successfully competed with
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1940s, thus creating a dual system of distribution that permitted them to have more of their products in the marketplace.
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There are a lot of Old Town Canoes out there, and they last forever. It is a part of our heritage. It will never go away.
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The Wood and Canvas Canoe, by Jerry Stelmok and Rollin Thurlow, pp. 24-25, Harpswell Press, Gardiner, Maine, 1987,
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In 1954 approximately 130 workers went on strike in a dispute over wages that topped out at about $ 1.08 an hour.
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285:, received Old Town number 72176 in September 1922. It is a 15-foot Common Sense grade Fifty Pound Model canoe.
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Most of the individual records for Old Town's canoes and boats built prior to 1976 still exist. Information on
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and fibre glass canoe makers who nearly put many of the handcrafted wood and canvas builders out of business.
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OLD TOWN CANOE STORY TRACES RISE OF A CULTURE Maine Sunday Telegram (Portland, ME) December 27, 1998 Page 8E
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The company began making kayaks in 1995. In 2000 the company was making more kayaks than canoes.
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and his friend Walter Port paddled on the 2,250 mile adventure described in Sevareid's book
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Tux Turkel "Course Correction" Maine Sunday Telegram (Portland, ME) September 7, 2003
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Local News | Old Town to gain 48 jobs in consolidation | Seattle Times Newspaper
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Seven 16-foot Guide Model Old Town canoes were used in production of the film
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659:, Borealis Books: an imprint of the Minnesota Historical Society, 2004.
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Haskell, Meg, “Old Town Canoe Celebrates Expansion, Move to New Site”,
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in 2004. It was kept in Maine after a $ 900,000 interest free loan and
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358:"A canoe company put Old Town on the international sportsmen's map"
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and early canoe makers such as E.H. Gerrish and C.B. Thatcher of
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582:"Removal of Former Old Town Canoe Factory Gives City New Look"
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Penobscot County, Maine registry of deeds, Book 708, Page 325.
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purchased a number of Old Town Yankee Model canoes for his
568:"City Prepares to Demolish Former Old Town Canoe Complex"
171:, named for its founder E. M. White and founded in 1889.
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Wooden Canoe Heritage Association, Forums, Open Forum,
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The Old Town Canoe Company Build Record Archive Project
556:$ 200,000 Grant Could Be Awarded to Old Town - WABI TV5
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Old Town design no.4 on 1934 HW model wood-canvas canoe
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The Complete Old Town Canoe Company Catalog Collection
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The Wood and Canvas Canoe: Old Town HW with Sponsons
646:, posted 12-06-2014 and accessed September 16, 2015.
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The Old Town Canoe Company: Our First Hundred Years
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The Old Town Canoe Company: Our First Hundred Years
356:O'Neil, Ruth; Swartz, Brian (September 11, 1990).
270:and livery business, Border Lakes Outfitters in
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472:The Morris Canoe: Legacy of an American Family
329:Bangor Daily News – Google News Archive Search
134:Old Town Canoe 'Discoverer 150' in use on the
83:The origins of canvas canoes can be traced to
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803:Manufacturing companies established in 1898
149:In the early 1970s the company began using
798:Companies based in Penobscot County, Maine
511:, September 13, 2003, Canoe Kayak Magazine
16:Canoe manufacturer in Maine, United States
746:Gray, Benson and Daniel Miller, editors,
499:Lewiston Evening Journal - March 23, 1954
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777:1950s video featuring an Old Town canoe
726:Old Town Canoe Company corporate history
718:Audette, Susan T., with David E. Baker,
383:Audette, Susan T., with David E. Baker,
48:Old Town was the largest and best known
485:Old Town Canoe: Our First Hundred Years
483:Audette, Susan T. with David E. Baker,
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194:was awarded a $ 600,000 grant from the
570:. Bangor Daily News. 26 February 2013.
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451:Manufacturers: Carleton Canoe Company
411:Bangor Daily News - December 27, 1974
259:was an Old Town of unspecified model.
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813:Design companies established in 1898
761:Old Town Canoe: Serial Number Search
196:U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
95:and G.E. Carleton and E.M. White of
700:Bangor Daily News - April 17, 2008
584:. Bangor Daily News. 21 March 2014.
755:Old Town build records on CD-ROM.
546:Bangor Daily News - August 8, 2000
523:November 10, 2009 Nashua Telegraph
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439:St. John Daily Sun - June 2, 1905
680:Old Town build records on CD-ROM
669:Old Town Build Records on CD-ROM
544:Old Town's kayaks outsell canoes
160:In 1974 the company was sold to
454:, accessed September 17, 2015.
437:Old Town Canoe Co. v. Chestnut
409:Old Town Canoe sold to Johnson
167:In 1984 the company purchased
115:Cover of 1921 Old Town catalog
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497:Old Town canoe workers strike
818:1898 establishments in Maine
487:, Tilbury House, 1998, p.67.
474:, CreateSpace, 2014, p. 139.
449:WCHA Forums, KnowledgeBase,
279:United States Forest Service
521:Governor visits canoe plant
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262:In 1935, environmentalist
249:The canoe that journalist
705:accessed 22 November 2020
174:Old Town was acquired by
277:The first Chief of the
237:Notable Old Town Canoes
29:is a historic maker of
722:, Tilbury House, 1998.
657:Canoeing with the Cree
509:30 Years of Great Gear
387:, Tilbury House, 1998.
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301:Some Assembly Required
256:Canoeing with the Cree
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121:Chestnut Canoe Company
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101:Carleton Canoe Company
27:Old Town Canoe Company
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702:Old Town Canoe get...
609:The Bangor Daily News
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611:, November 10, 2009.
598:, November 10, 2009.
823:Kayak manufacturers
808:Canoe manufacturers
775:Creation of a Canoe
628:2015-12-21 at the
458:2016-03-04 at the
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298:for an episode of
290:In popular culture
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103:of Old Town built
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643:Deliverance Canoe
596:Bangor Daily News
363:Bangor Daily News
296:Discovery Channel
272:Winton, Minnesota
91:, B.N. Morris of
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367:. Retrieved
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70:E.H. Garrish
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54:World War II
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750:on CD-ROM.
244:Deliverance
180:block grant
169:White Canoe
74:B.N. Morris
787:Categories
308:References
268:outfitting
78:E.M. White
304:in 2008.
138:, England
136:River Ure
626:Archived
456:Archived
211:canoes.
155:aluminum
105:batteaux
50:American
35:Old Town
151:Royalex
64:History
424:
184:Paddle
93:Veazie
89:Bangor
76:, and
58:kayaks
31:canoes
232:2012.
85:Maine
39:Maine
422:ISBN
371:2018
221:stem
33:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
