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The Kennebec Boat and Canoe Company was located in
The Kennebec Boat and canoe Company was founded by former railroad station agent, ice cutter, publisher and merchandiser George F. Terry. Walter D. Grant supervised the building of canoes for Terry, who had no personal experience building canoes. Grant had previously worked for the B.N. Morris Canoe Company of
Kennebec canoes are known for their heart shaped decks and short rail caps, a trim commonly used on their open gunwale canoes.
Serial numbers consist of four to six digits followed by the length of the canoe, and are stamped on the upper face of the stem on the floor of the canoe or on a brass builder's plate. Records linking a serial number to original build-information may be accessed through the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association.
*Katahdin 1922–1928, 1940–1941
*K Special 1915–1917
*Kennebec 1910–1941
*Kineo 1910–1941
*Maine Guides Model 1910–1941
*Open Gunwale Canoe 1911–1918
*Sponson Canoe 1911–1928
*Torpedo 1917–1927
*War Canoe 1915–1933
*White Water Canoe 1940–1941Miller, Daniel, Dragonfly Canoe Works: Discovering the History of Wooden Canoes, Kennebec Canoe Company (this citation applies to all Kennebec canoe models listed
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The Kennebec Boat and Canoe Company was located in Waterville, Maine
Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The city is home to Colby College and Thomas College. As of the 2020 census the population was 15,828. Along with Augusta, Waterville is ...
. Established in 1909 by George F. Terry, the company manufactured wooden canoes
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 ter ...
and boats until 1941.
History
The Kennebec Boat and canoe Company was founded by former railroad station agent, ice cutter, publisher and merchandiser George F. Terry. Walter D. Grant supervised the building of canoes for Terry, who had no personal experience building canoes. Grant had previously worked for the B.N. Morris Canoe Company of Veazie, Maine
Veazie is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,814 at the 2020 census. The town is named after General Samuel Veazie, an early lumber baron and railroad operator. Veazie was originally part of Bangor, using P ...
. Grant's brother worked for the E.M. White Canoe Company and his sister was married to White. In 1930, Grant left Kennebec to found the Skowhegan Boat and Canoe Company whose canoes closely resemble those of Kennebec.
Walter Grant's prior connection to Morris suggests a reason for similarities between the canoes of Kennebec and B.N. Morris. The Morris is known for having stem
Stem or STEM may refer to:
Plant structures
* Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang
* Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure
* Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...
s made of cedar
Cedar may refer to:
Trees and plants
*''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae
*Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar
Places United States
* Cedar, Arizona
* ...
, rather than hardwood
Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...
. The cedar stem widens to three inches at its end and is diagnostic of the canoes built by B.N. Morris. Some Kennebec canoes share this feature as well, yet their profiles are that of the majority of Kennebec canoes, which have a narrow, hardwood stem. Terry hired men who had learned the trade from Morris, as well as those who had worked elsewhere, and apparently gave the men free rein when it came to building canoes as it was not his field of expertise.
Terry’s son, George F. Terry, Jr., later joined the company and ran it until 1939. In 1939, the company was sold to Frank Terry and James Dean, who built a small number of canoes before closing in 1941.
Kennebec canoe
Kennebec canoes are known for their heart shaped decks and short rail caps, a trim commonly used on their open gunwale canoes.
Serial numbers consist of four to six digits followed by the length of the canoe, and are stamped on the upper face of the stem on the floor of the canoe or on a brass builder's plate. Records linking a serial number to original build-information may be accessed through the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association.
Canoe models
*Aristocrat 1918 *Camp Chief 1932–1941 *Camp Special 1918 *Charles River 1915 1910–1916 *Invisible Sponson 1929–1941 *Junior 1922–1928
*Katahdin 1922–1928, 1940–1941
*K Special 1915–1917
*Kennebec 1910–1941
*Kineo 1910–1941
*Maine Guides Model 1910–1941
*Open Gunwale Canoe 1911–1918
*Sponson Canoe 1911–1928
*Torpedo 1917–1927
*War Canoe 1915–1933
*White Water Canoe 1940–1941Miller, Daniel, Dragonfly Canoe Works: Discovering the History of Wooden Canoes, Kennebec Canoe Company (this citation applies to all Kennebec canoe models listed/ref>
References
{{- Canoe manufacturers Companies based in Kennebec County, Maine Waterville, Maine American companies established in 1909 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1909 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1941 1909 establishments in Maine 1941 disestablishments in Maine Defunct manufacturing companies based in Maine