Rice Lake Boatworks and Twentieth Century Canoes (1926 - 1956)
Here is a brief history of the Rice Lake company. It was actually founded ca1862 by
Dan Herald, who patented a style of canoe we now call Herald Patent canoes. These are
constructed with a layer of planking running from gunwale to gunwale as the inner layer, a
layer of muslin soaked in white lead, and a layer of planking running the length of the boat.
There are no ribs per se. Herald also built three- and four-plank canoes which are three or
four boards per side of basswood or cedar, with the seams covered by half-round moulding
inserted between the ribs. Herald was killed in a train accident, and the company was
continued by his sons. It was called Herald Brothers Canoes for a short time, then changed
to Rice Lake Canoe Co. All of this took place in Gores Landing Ontario.
H.R. Langslow of Rochester, NY, bought the firm in 1919 and by 1921 had moved it to
Coubourg, Ontario. He hired a bunch of workers from the Peterborough factory who were
not familiar with the construction of Herald Patent canoes, so built what they knew,
namely longitudinal cedar strip canoes. The company was sold to W.E. Pratt in 1926.
It was moved back to Gores Landing and was run as Rice Lake Boatworks and Twentieth
Century Canoes 1926-1956.