Serial number request

hornbeam

Forester
I have two serial numbers for Old Town canoes. Can someone please provide the build sheets?
12288 18
99247 17
Thank you in advance,
Jody Bronson
 
Please double-check the number on 12288-- check both stems and compare. It comes up as a 17 foot canoe, not an 18 footer, and was shipped to the Hudson's Bay Company in North Bay, Ontario. Canoes don't seem to travel far from their original destination (but they could). I'll upload this record anyway, for you to see-- it's very interesting. 12288 is a 17 foot CS (common sense or standard) grade HW (heavy water) canoe with closed spruce gunwales and ash trim. It was completed between October 1908 and April 1910 and shipped May 7, 1910 to the HBC. Can't figure out the color, and it may have a painter ring.

Old Town 99247 is a 17 foot CS (common sense or standard) grade guide model canoe with red Western cedar planking and open spruce gunwales. It was originally light green. It was shipped to a man in Grant Farm (no state given but this can be Googled) on October 13, 1928.

The scans of these build record records are attached below-- click to get a larger image.

These scans and several hundred thousand others were created with substantial grants from the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) and others. A description of the project to preserve these records is available at http://www.wcha.org/ot_records/ if you want more details. I hope that anyone reading this will join or renew membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See http://www.wcha.org/wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://www.wcha.org/join.php to renew.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if this description doesn't match your canoe. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Kathy
 

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The canoe that was shipped to grant farm, the build record shows that it was shipped to what looks like the great northern paper co. Grant farm was a farm that was up around moose head lake. It supplied produce for the lumbering operations in that area of maine. Also I am sure it supplied hay for feed for the horses that were used in the woods.
 
Can't figure out the color

My guess is N. H. Green which is probably the New Haven railroad's green. The page at http://www.art-paints.com/Paints/Ai...aven-Hunter-Green/New-Haven-Hunter-Green.html may have the correct color codes for this shade which is popular with model railroads.

Grant farm was one of many farms in the north woods of Maine that catered to the lumbering industry as Paul suggested. These were in the "unorganized territories" so there was no town to name. The Grant farm is shown at http://www.mainememory.net/artifact/19071 and the better known Pittston farm is still running as shown at http://www.pittstonfarm.com/ if anyone is curious.

Benson
 
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The two canoes in question are located in eastern CT, my friend believes they were previously owned by the Goodwin Family who were well connected with early forest conservation efforts. The serial numbers will have to checked again, I have not yet seen the canoes.

Thank you comments and thoughts,
Jody
 
I have not yet been able to see the canoes in question. My friend believes that the 12288 # is correct yet it does not match the canoe, therefore.......
The canoe is 18', mahogany rails and decks, can one of the 8's be a 3??

The other canoe may be 99847, it is a 17'canoe.


Thank you,
Jody
 
Some pictures of the serial numbers may help since none of these numbers match. My guess is that you really have the Old Town canoes with numbers 122884 and 99947.

The Old Town canoe with serial number 122884 is an 18 foot long, AA (or top) grade, HW (heavy water) model with open mahogany gunwales, mahogany decks, mahogany thwarts, mahogany seats, a keel, and a floor rack. It was built between September, 1937 and July, 1938. The original exterior paint color was dark green. It shipped on June 24th, 1939(?) to Hampton, Conn.

The Old Town canoe with serial number 99947 is a 17 foot long, CS (Common Sense or middle) grade, HW (heavy water) model with red western cedar planking, open spruce gunwales, ash decks, ash thwarts, ash seats, and a keel. It was built between November, 1928 and June, 1929. The original exterior paint color was dark green. It shipped on June 22nd, 1929 to Hartford, Conn. It was returned for repairs on May 24th, 1949 from East Hartford, Conn as shown on the back side.

Scans showing both of these build records can be found by following the links at the attached thumbnail images below. These scans and several hundred thousand others were created with substantial grants from the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association (WCHA) and others as you probably know well. A description of the project to preserve these records is available at http://www.wcha.org/ot_records/ if you want more details. I hope that you will renew your membership to the WCHA so that services like this can continue. See http://www.wcha.org/about-the-wcha/ to learn more about the WCHA and http://store.wcha.org/WCHA-New-Membership.html to renew.

It is also possible that you could have another number or manufacturer if these descriptions don't match your canoes. Feel free to reply here if you have any other questions.

Benson
 

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Benson,
Thank you for your sleuthing! The records that you recently sent match the canoes in question. Thank you for your time.
Regards,
Jody
 
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