Chestnut Canoe Company
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Chestnut Canoe Company was established in
Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...
in the
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of
New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
at the end of the 19th century and became one of the pre-eminent producers of wood-and-canvas
canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...
s. The company closed in 1979.


History

By the end of the nineteenth century, wealthy
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"sports" had discovered the New Brunswick wilderness and arrived via the Saint John River in the
Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
-built wood-canvas canoes of B.N. Morris, E.M. White, and E.H. Gerrish. Brothers William and Henry Chestnut, inheritors of their father's hardware business, became aware of the interest in canvas-covered canoes but knew importing them from the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
would substantially increase price due to import duties. The Chestnut brothers hired boatbuilder Jack J. Moore to build a replica of a Morris canoe. Early Chestnut canoes clearly show the influence of the Morris. When Chestnut's business increased to the degree that additional experienced builders were required, William Chestnut ventured to Maine and aggressively recruited men from the
Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...
factory. Old Town responded by filing a lawsuit and threatened to set up a factory of their own in Canada. In 1905, Chestnut was granted a patent for the process of building the wood-canvas canoe, despite the fact that the process had been in use for more than thirty years. In 1909, they filed suit against the
Peterborough Canoe Company The Peterborough Canoe Company, founded in 1892 by William H. Hill and Elihu Edwards, manufactured wooden canoes in a factory located at the corner of King and Water Streets in the city of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, where quality wood and wood ...
for patent infringement, but the suit was dismissed. Eventually, the Chestnut Canoe Company and Peterborough Canoe Company merged under the holding company Canadian Watercraft Limited. Canadian Canoe Company joined them in 1927. All three companies maintained separate identities after the merger, while marketing nearly identical lines of canvas canoes. It is often said that Chestnut was responsible for the canvas canoe production for all three companies. The Chestnut Company left Fredericton, moving to a new factory in
Oromocto, New Brunswick "Effort Brings Success" , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = Oromotco NB flag.png , image_shield = Oromocto NB coat of arms.jpg , image_map = , map_caption = , ...
in 1974. The factory closed for good in 1978, shipping their last canoe in December of that year. The Company had intended to produce 300 Special Edition Indian Maiden canoes, but only a prototype and two other canoes were made. On September 12, 1978 the Chestnut plant in Oromocto, New Brunswick was closed and all 55 employees laid off. The last canoe, numbered 2 of 300 was sold to William Miller in Windsor, Ontario at the Canadian National Exhibition and was constructed after the plant had actually closed when he sent additional funds to have it completed. Most of the Chestnut molds survive and are being used in several wooden canoe shops in Canada.


Models

*Pleasure Models: General purpose recreational canoes, excellent for paddling and are the most commonly found models of Chestnut canoes. The 16 foot Pal is perhaps the most famous, but the 15 foot Twozer/Gooseberry/Chum is a current favorite among solo paddlers. *Lightweight Pleasure Canoes: Built lighter than standard models, these include the 11 foot Featherweight and 15 foot 50-pound Special (commonly known as Bobs Special). *Prospector Models: Deeper and beamier than pleasure models of equivalent length, these canoes are meant to carry gear for extended trips; this model is the most widely copied by modern-day composite canoe builders. Prospector models were available in both double-ended and transom-sterned models. *Trappers Canoes: A loose grouping of smaller canoes that has changed over the years. This class includes lower grade pleasure canoes and the Bantam, which is a 2nd grade version of Bobs Special. *Cruisers Canoes: Designed to go fast, these models are narrower, more rounded across the bottom and have finer lines than other models. The Guides Special models are Cruisers that have close-ribbing. *Freight Canoes: Bigger and beamier than the Prospector, these canoes have great carrying capacity. Available in both double-ended and transom-sterned configurations. *Ogilvy Specials: Named for famous guides of New Brunswick, this model is designed for shallow, fast water canoeing, like that found on the famous salmon rivers of New Brunswick.
WCHA Forums KnowledgeBase, ''Manufacturers:Chestnut Canoe Company'', accessed September 10, 2015, as source material for all models discussed.


Famous paddlers of the Chestnut canoe

* Bill Mason,
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naturalist, author, artist, filmmaker, and conservationist, whose favorite Chestnut Prospector was donated to the Canadian Canoe Museum in
Peterborough, Ontario Peterborough ( ) is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada, about 125 kilometres (78 miles) northeast of Toronto. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 83,651. The population of the Peterborough ...
following his death. *American President
Teddy Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
, who purchased Chestnut canoes for a
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n expedition.


References

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Additional resources

*Macgregor, Roger, ''When the Chestnut was in Flower: Inside the Chestnut Canoe'', Plumsweep Press, 1999. *Solway, Kenneth, ''The Story of the Chestnut Canoe: 150 Years of Canadian Canoe Building'', Nimbus Publishing, 1997. *Facebook: Chestnut Canoe (a public grou

*Dragonfly Canoe Works, ''Discovering the History of Wooden Canoes: The Chestnut Canoe'
Canadian Canoe Museum
*Miller, Daniel and Benson Gray, editors, ''The Canadian Wood Canoe and Boat Company Catalog Collection'', on CD-ROM

19th-century establishments in Canada Defunct companies of New Brunswick Canoe manufacturers Canadian companies disestablished in 1979 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1979