Joseph Ranco, canoe builder

Benson Gray

Canoe History Enthusiast
Staff member
Joseph Ranco's name as a canoe builder has been showing up in a number of posts here so I thought that it might be useful to consolidate what is known about him in one place and put out a call for any new information. His canoes often had heart shaped decks, spruce root or cane wrapped on the deck tips, removable bow seats, three closely spaced ribs at the end of the stems on each end, and a planking pattern that flared out to fill the turn of the bilge after the tenth rib (counting from each end). Many canoes from other builders in the Kennebunkport, Maine area also have these characteristics. Please respond here with pictures if you have a canoe with some of these features to see what we all can learn.

It appears that Joseph Ranco was born in April, 1865 based on census records and died in April, 1943 according to his obituary. I believe that his parents were Augustin Ranco (1813-1913) and Louisa Polis Ranco. Augustin seems to have gone by Tuester although it was often spelled Tueskr or Toaster. He was probably the canoe builder listed in the 1887 issue of the New England Business Directory as T. Ranco in Olamon, Greenbush, Maine near Old Town. This means that Joseph could have learned to build canoes from his father.

Joseph Ranco was first listed as a canoe builder in the Old Town newspaper on April 28th, 1888 saying "Joseph Ranco has fitted up a shop on the Island where he intends to make to order all kinds of birch bark and canvass canoes." The same paper reported on August 18th, 1888 that "We received an order for business cards this week from Mr. Joseph Ranco who is summering at Kennebunkport, Me." Other sources list him as a canoe builder in Old Town during 1889 and 1893.

Joseph Ranco advertised his services in Kennebunkport as shown below during the late 1800s. John R. Williams and several other Kennebunkport boat builders started advertising canoes around 1896. It is very difficult to distinguish one Kennebunkport area builder's canoe from another without a tag. This is similar to the situation with the Charles River area builders and probably for the same reasons. The ten other Kennebunkport area builders were advertising similar canoes at various times from 1886 to 1915.

The Profiles of Maine book from 1976 by Lynn Franklin quotes Nick Ranco saying “It was Joe Ranco, My uncle, who founded the Old Town Canoe Company. He worked with a man named Wickett and they had a small shop, just big enough to hold one canoe. They sawed out their cedar ribs and planking themselves.”

Alfred Wickett first learned to build canoes from Edwin M. White as described at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?attachments/37017/ in 1895. He was also involved with the new and unnamed canoe company which first appeared in 1900 as shown at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/gray-family-letters-1900-1940.9315/page-2#post-62144 in the newspaper. This became the Indian Old Town Canoe Company. Their first catalog identified the I. F. model as shown at http://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?attachments/25088/ as being “planned by one of our Indian workmen” so that was probably a reference to Joseph Ranco. The initials may have stood for Indian Fishing canoe. This model is still being built and sold today as the Guide.

The Penobscot Canoe Company was known for their unusual decks as described at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/pecaco/decks.jpg and the St. Louis Meramec Canoe Company had a similar one as described at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/meramec/deck.jpg for example. Both of these companies were run by Alfred Wickett so I had always assumed that he invented this. However, some recent research into the Penobscot "NOTACRACK" model described at http://www.wcha.org/catalogs/pecaco/notacrac.jpg led me to the patent at https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/58/82/37/b048f273e9faa5/US1195727.pdf which confirms that this deck and more were invented by Joseph Ranco.

Joe listed his profession in the 1920 census as a "Teamster" in the "Trucking" business so he probably stopped building canoes commercially after the Penobscot Canoe Company failed. He also was known as Chief Tomekin when he dressed in native clothing with his family for a photographer as shown below.

Please add any more information to build on this. Thanks,

Benson


Close-ribs.jpg Deck-cane.jpg Ranco-3.jpg Rib-10a.jpg Rib-10b.jpg IMG_3592.JPGH919-1.jpgIndian Landing.jpgIndians Canoes Cape Arundel.jpg
 
Last edited:
Benson,
No specific's here on Ranco but a good photo of a few canoes at the time.
Zack
 

Attachments

  • kennebunk.PNG
    kennebunk.PNG
    714.5 KB · Views: 435
This is a great postcard and I appreciate your sharing it. Old postcards can be a wonderful source of information like this. The Kennebunkport Historical Society has also been a great help and generously shared many similar images including several of the ones shown below. They have also located a Kennebunk Star article published on 4-24-1936 saying "Indian Village to be torn down by John Peabody. They once occupied land on both sides of Ocean Avenue. Ranco settled first near Picnic Rocks 1878. The Mitchells set up camp on Emery Point the following year. Both families later camped at the mouth of the river along with the Shays, Neptunes, and the Nicolas, who came for the first time in the summer of 1882. Louis Francis and Joseph Ranco, both Old Town Penobscot Indians, made birch bark canoes every summer near Government Wharf. Ranco is credited for making the first canvas canoe. Kennebunkport was considered a canoe-making center by Native Americans and by local white boat builders in the early-1900s."

Benson


Cleveland Trott.jpg highlighted 1888 map Indian Camps.JPG Kennebunkport-club-house.jpg Kennebunkport-Indian.jpg Picnic-Rocks.jpg Kennebunkport-canoe-race.jpg Kennebunkport-postcard.jpg
 
Last edited:
Not a photo of Joseph Ranco, but here is an image cited as Tuester Ranco and Jo Francis with a bark canoe and paddles. Taken by Frank Speck when he was doing research on the Penobscot.

wiwenikan-portage-colby-april-201912831.jpg

Source link is here.

The postcard image you posted of the overturned canoe and tall paddles has a caption mentioning Kennebunkport as the location...
index.php


...but the Maine Historical Society mentions the image is of Athian Lewey of West Grand Lake, taken in 1898.
https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/5495/
 
This is great and I appreciate the background. Postcard companies were famous for recycling images and attributing them to different locations. Thanks,

Benson
 
Steve Cayard has generously shared some pictures of a bark canoe built by Joseph Ranco at the Peabody Essex Museum as shown below. Their records have it dated as 1895 but it may be older. This is what Steve and Castle McLaughlin from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University call the "Transitional Penobscot River" style since it has elements of canvas canoes which are not normally found in bark canoes. This one has a stern seat that is very similar to the White style for example. Steve also said "The 'Indian Canoe Landing' in Kennebunkport is definitely a place of interest, which appears to have been a gathering place for canoe builders, possibly where ideas and techniques were shared. Another birchbark canoe builder who summered there was David Moses Bridges' Passamaquoddy great-grandfather, Sylvester Gabriel."

PEM E67.588 Bow.jpg PEM E67.588 headboard.jpg PEM E67.588 Stern.jpg PEM E67.588.jpg

Joe is probably the person on the right at https://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?attachments/25183/ leaning on the railing of the Old Town Canoe Company's front steps in the early 1900s.

Benson
 
Last edited:
Hi all, first time poster, first time wooden canoe owner. I hope I'm putting this post in the right place.

This canoe is a craiglist find that I got my hands on two weeks ago. One note in the ad - "previous owner believed it to be a Ranco" - led me to this page. There's no serial number or other clear identifiers.

Here's what I was told: First, the man I purchased the canoe from purchased it from a restorer, whose contact information I have asked for but not yet received. Will update if it comes. The restorer, seller and myself are all located in Maine. Supposedly it sat in the restorer's garage, uncanvassed, for more than 30 years before the restoration in 2021.

signal-2022-05-08-12-28-30-315.jpg IMG_20220502_142738568.jpg 00H0H_lCxwc7U3Jg6z_0CI0il_1200x900.jpg 00303_ipfZt7ebmITz_0CI0il_1200x900.jpg

-18' x 34.5"

-Removable bow seat: this was visible in the CL ad and one of the pictures I attached, the gentleman I purchased it from said that he installed the aluminum hangers for both seats for the purpose of lowering them after the photo was taken.

-Decks: quite heart shaped, and the rope handles look like Ranco. But this could easily have just been the restorer's addition, and for all I know maybe this was done by other manufacturers at some point.

-Ribs: don't get (much) closer together at the stems.

Appreciate your thoughts! I'd love to get an idea of how old this canoe really is. Ranco or not, this boat will be on the Allagash by the end of the week.
 
It certainly could be a Ranco but the list at http://wcha.org/catalogs/maine-list.htm indicates that there are hundreds of other possibilities. The removable bow seat may be your best chance for some confirmation. Are there any signs of missing brackets that might have originally held the bow seat up under the rails in a way that would have made it easily removable? See https://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?attachments/25268/ and https://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/10860/ for other examples. Heart shaped decks appear on many old Maine canoes. The rope carry handles harken back to bark canoes and may be a modern addition. See https://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/11487/ for a canoe that has them and may have been made by Ranco when he worked at the Indian Old Town Canoe company. The rib spacing at the end of the stem doesn't seem to be much different. Please keep us updated if the restorer responds. Thanks,

Benson
 
I did finally get in touch with the restorer, who was super helpful. He wasn't sure about the bow seat, but it does look like the staining of the interior went around something that isn't there anymore right near where the bow seat is currently installed. He also shared that there is a number on one of the stems that I will look for this week. Not sure what it might tell me, but maybe the format will be useful for narrowing down its origin.

Apparently this boat went to a WCHA meetup 30-40 years ago, so some folks here may have seen it in person before it was redone.
 
zS2j7j2C9HUsRCKOzh3sfT7BrqIMMVe0wE8dq2DKFnIsFUPIyj74CK1qIMYLC5gYc8OeKeD-pb0Pp9SALF763rv_CLF18BFXQkj-iGQPbip9m-Rw30XSyxIgWC6o1xzJtxVVXSR3QAyvPl5bdPDW_Z99-PPIrcv0PbuVF74-ivn39KpIkFIIDEG6P0fVdxS08QntVOMyzDO7WEX_xl_goB0SYSu3c4aXCqe2_XktAOPQqlxOFFMd9kRKp_3rIS_62hcTEdc8rPzvVvX3aIKKYzlR2CiP1mj761hxQNWs2V8jPxPkPthaGwTghsRfaOJpcx2o8brMqNGATdKUcgSX8-qXSMILuRk5__w1CuzPGF66UxrmCGNpEr58MmW2HXUn5NXpAXJ3fIua-txu9WMFNnWIEe9q8N29sOXCNBbFhuuM1eOG9vpPVOHj6qc72oYIiKWPI_Tojx02r6eVhuvhpEtqIEVT1hfVHFVDFx7g3PVmcYdt3mfktnPfEoz4FQP1E_ADnAkYmgmxx2TDPfUR61wl42F7mMYNmMul_DKVMom41ezEK0J4WMJM3gKEWlcMk5Le_q6rdP1-v2qJ15zAeTZMPfvX-TUllcwFoy81_urrJBS-e0E4GT0hlec7WDxVajNAKrTumlx9-MuG0l3EmX7Ivnd31qnOO6EujfFHXBr_kbHO94Igu9dhZvuIFn47A7oAvU-TN50ybXNrXi4wSfp_6yNvgHrb4xdVJV9CvsJ0Ypg6XCmLZWIjc2kFMuM=w529-h939-no

One last addition here, I was able to get a picture of the number on the stem. It isn't clear to me which was is up, but if the format looks familiar to anyone let me know.
 
Several years ago I started this thread speculating that "three closely spaced ribs at the end of the stems on each end" were one of the unique features of a Ranco canoe. Recent conversations with Chris Pearson and Zachary Smith indicate that they each have Gerrish canoes thought to be circa 1890s which also share this characteristic as shown below. Does anyone know of other builders who made canoes like this?

Benson


image000000.jpg




IMG_5387.jpg
 
The previous owner of that particular canoe was quite certain that it was a Gerrish. Who knows? With these old hulls there will almost always be speculation if they are not clearly marked with a tag or lack solid provenance.
1682951942075.jpeg
 
When I met at length a couple of times with the previous owner, she told me that she and her husband had no idea who the maker was; she said that someone once speculated it was a Gerrish. It has features that don't match Gerrish canoes I've seen, but then I'm certainly not an expert on Gerrish. It's now sitting next to a Gerrish and the two canoes are very distinct (realizing that this is an N of 1 each, of course). I don't necessarily believe this is a Ranco, but it seems a possibility. There is no maker's mark of any kind on this canoe, so there is no way to know for sure at present. Most of the canoe appears to be original except possibly the outside rails and top caps which may have been replaced during previous work.
 
Last edited:
From my experience the planking pattern for the Gerrish canoes is quite distinctive and especially when viewed down the length of the bare hull. In that this canoe was already restored, the opportunity to see that firsthand will need to wait. There are other interesting Gerrish details such as the one recently posted by Chris Pearson. Interestingly, N of 1 is the norm for Gerrish. He was continuously making changes to how he build canoes.
What would distinguish the work of Joe Ranko other than a removable seat (a Cyclone Brown tell) is beyond my pay grade.
Whatever the case for that particular canoe be it Gerrish, Ranko or one of the other forgotten Maine builders active in the Old Town and Dover Foxcroft areas before the turn of the century, it's a fine canoe and one that is undoubtably a pleasure to paddle.
 
Nothing from what I can see says anything about the canoe being a Gerrish. As Mike mentioned he was constantly evolving in construction techniques but in a direction that can be traced. I'm still surprised occasionally but not often on a Gerrish construction trait. Gerrish never chip carved the seats, and thwarts in such a fashion. I've never seen one with original front seat spacers. The wrapped caning on the deck tip is unlike Gerrish. Too much recurve on the stems. The biggest thing is Gerrish identified his canoes. They had deck tags until the very end of the business then he painted the hull using a template as a pattern. I will not buy into the unmarked Gerrish discussion. I've seen to many of them from beginning to end and they all have either a tag or painted stencil. Did he build a few before he went into a legit business? Probably, but we are talking about a small fraction of his total number of boats.

I'd bet it was from Kennebunkport builder and Ranco was the best known. The Williams canoe at the 2017 assembly is very similar in construction which I saw in person. Seems a bit later with the bolted under thwarts. At least he put a tag on his work. Still can't believe I've never come across on of these being only 25 miles away from Kennebunkport.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: MGC
Here is an early Gerrish with the beveled seat frames and cane wrapping at the deck. I'm showing the restored boat but the restoration was all copied from the original boat. The front seat was missing so the one in the resorted boat was built copying the style of the stern seat. The thwarts were relatively plain compared to the seat. All the thwarts and seats were bolted below the closed gunwale inside rail.
 

Attachments

  • Patten - 013.jpg
    Patten - 013.jpg
    368.6 KB · Views: 102
  • Patten - 015.jpg
    Patten - 015.jpg
    189.6 KB · Views: 100
  • Patten - 017.jpg
    Patten - 017.jpg
    215.2 KB · Views: 90
  • Patten - 022.jpg
    Patten - 022.jpg
    140.3 KB · Views: 91
  • Patten - 034.jpg
    Patten - 034.jpg
    288.1 KB · Views: 92
  • Patten - 043.jpg
    Patten - 043.jpg
    197.9 KB · Views: 112
Back
Top