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A canoe with a wonderful history–
this well-used Native America built boat remained
in one New England family for over 130 years.
Tudor and John Richards II, grandsons of the
original purchaser, donated this canoe to the
Abbe Museum in the summer of 2006.
In excellent condition considering
its age, the canoe is now undergoing cleaning
and conservation in preparation for this year’s
birchbark exhibition.
In the 1870s, Henry Richards,
a young architect from Gardiner, Maine, traveled
by steamer to Bar Harbor to supervise the construction
of a summer home for Mrs. Charles Dorr. On that
same steamer, a yet-to-be-identified Indian
was carrying a fleet of bark canoes that he
would rent to Bar Harbor’s burgeoning
tourist population. Richards, fascinated with
these canoes, purchased this canoe before disembarking
the steamer!
How much do you think Henry
Richards paid for this canoe?
Henry Richards paid $30 for the canoe and 2
paddles! That is less than $1.70 a foot. Today,
a master birchbark canoe builder might charge
as much as $1,000 a foot to build a similar
craft.
Plan to visit the Abbe Museum
this summer and learn more about the fascinating
history of this canoe.
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During
the late 1800s and early 1900s, Native guides
rented canoes or provided guided canoe trips
to the tourists flocking to Bar Harbor.
They were part of a larger group of Native
Americans who traveled to Bar Harbor and
other coastal resorts to market their products
and services to tourists and summer residents. |
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