Name/Title
Canoe, BirchbarkEntry/Object ID
1997.062Description
1997.062
Boat Type: Birchbark Canoe
Builder: Unknown
Model: N/A
Length: 13'2" Beam: 39"
Date Built: Unknown
Donor: George Hale Smith
The history of the canoe passed down through the donor's family: "the canoe was found awash in the 1840s on the southern shore of Black River Bay. Presumably, the occupant(s) had been caught in a storm and lost overboard, the canoe then drifted into shore. At the time, Elisha Camp owned a farm on Catfish Point (Catfish Point is shown as Storr's Point at the Dexter end of Black River Bay, on cart #14802) and it was on the shore of Catfish Point that the canoe was found. The canoe was brought to the house and has been in the attic ever since, except for one brief excursion. My [the donor's] Grandfather thought it would be a good idea to see if it still floated. Somewhere around 1910, trying to get it out of the attic, it was dropped. Hence the broken bow and back to the attic it went."
This is a good example of the relatively advanced birchbark canoes made by Native Americans and used by them as well as American outdoorsmen and explorers in the 19th century. It is made of wide, thin strips of wood bent inside a birchbark shell, with thin shakes of wood in between. Gunnels and thwarts hold the sheerlines in shape, and the whole is tied together with caning or spruce roots. This was the precursor to the wood-canvas canoe, where canvas takes the place of birchbark and the wooden hull is made first, making use of mechanical fasteners throughout.
The boat is relatively complete, though one end is split open and missing its stem. EVS 08
Ferdy Goode believes this to be an Ojibway canoe. Note the birch bark shims on the rib tips that the builder used to tighten the fit. DJM 3/2009Collection
BoatsAcquisition
Accession
1997.062Source or Donor
Smith, George HaleAcquisition Method
GiftMade/Created
Manufacturer
unknownNotes
Date: unk
Propulsion: PaddleOther Names and Numbers
Other Numbers
Number Type
Exhibition NumberOther Number
PC1Location
Gallery
*Pauline Morgan Dodge GalleryBuilding
*Small Craft BuildingShelf
Row CWall
Rack PBuilding
*Don Doebler Collections Storage FacilityShelf
Bottom, BottomWall
Rack PBuilding
*Don Doebler Collections Storage Facility
