Early C.B Thatcher, Lumberman's museum, Patten Maine

[1905Gerrish]

I was notified of a friend who frequents the museum that there were a few canoes in the collection. I had a chance to visit as I was in the neighborhood over the weekend. This was by far the most interesting to me as it's an oldie and a rare one. First the 1892 had me a bit stumped. I had read Calebs build start date was around 1896 but after a few minutes of newspaper research I found he was in business in 1892 until his death in 1914 on the same street in Bangor. The street numbers changed a few times I am not sure if the physical address did or not.

This canoe could date in the 1892 timeframe. It measures 16 feet. It has had some repairs throughout the years. The hatchet handle in place of the missing thwart is quite craftly. The additional side caps are gaudy and not original. I am not sure if it was built with a seat or not. My initial impressions were that it was constructed crudely on the underside. The build tag would be on the stern of the canoe if that was a factory seat, isn't common. The only thing that makes me think it might be original is the 6ft model that Benson has posted that has a similar seat. It has narrower planking and the ribs are slightly less in width than the norm today. The front stem band is flat iron. Unfortunately, the rear is missing but it seems original. One could say it's almost identical of the Gerrish's built right down the street minus the cane wrappings and a bit more pronounced bow and stern profiles.

 

[1905Gerrish]

A few more photos. I removed the paint on the builder tag. It was not legible with the thick paint on it. I was told it was donated to the museum in the 1950's.