It is believed that Old Town rewarded its wholesale distributors with a free forty-eight-inch sample if they ordered a railway boxcar load of canoes, about forty full-size canoes. made approximately 100-120 samples in all over the years, including thirty-five to forty of their larger eight-foot-long models. in Hackensack, New Jersey, close to where it was discovered over forty-five years ago. This particular piece is likely Old Town build #88798, shipped on 27 February 1926 to J. Identification is sometimes possible by matching original paint colors to records and/or relating the locale where the canoe was found to the original shipping destination records. build records disclose that approximately thirty-five forty-eight-inch-long samples were made between 19 however, very few bear the build/serial number relating to their actual production. A serial number is located on the upper face of the stem on the floor of the canoe at each end and is tied to the build records which contain specific information regarding construction, dates, and the final shipping destination. The individual build records for Old Town’s canoes that were built prior to 1976 still exist and can be accessed by contacting the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association. Incorporated in 1901, Old Town is the largest and most well-known American canoe maker and they are still in business today. The Old Town Canoe Company of Old Town, Maine, is a historic maker of canvas-covered wooden canoes.
