FREDERICTON, NB – June 12, 2026 (for immediate release): Paddling through Time: Honouring Fredericton’s Chestnut Canoe – Voyager à travers le temps : Hommage au canot Chestnut de Fredericton opens at the Fredericton Region Museum on June 28, 2026. For the first time ever, visitors will have the opportunity to view a historic 18-foot Chestnut Cruiser Canoe — unveiled after 28 years in private storage.

Fredericton’s legendary Chestnut Canoe Company operated from 1905 to 1979, and is still considered to be the pre-eminent builder of the finest canvas-cedar canoes ever made. From modest beginnings at the end of the nineteenth century, brothers William and Harry Chestnut built a world-class enterprise known for exceptional craftsmanship and quality. During 74 years of operation, their factory in Fredericton produced thousands upon thousands of handcrafted canoes, destined to be paddled on waterways across Canada, the United States, Europe, and South America. Over different points in time the Chestnut factory also crafted snowshoes, canoe paddles, motor boats, cross country skis, toboggans, and water skis. “Paddling through Time” honours the Chestnut legacy, and also pays tribute to the skilled craftsmen who helped make the Chestnut name world famous — individuals such as Tom Wister, Carl Jones, and Hedley Nash.

The origin of the Chestnut canvas-cedar design is disputed, but the original shape was closely modeled from traditional Wolastoqey birchbark canoes. William and Harry Chestnut, being scions of the local hardware merchants R. Chestnut & Sons, were avid sportsmen. This piqued their interest to build a more durable canvas-covered canoe that would not easily tip. After obtaining a Canadian patent for their construction technique in 1905, the brothers founded the Chestnut Canoe Company Ltd. Their factory building can still be found at 470 York Street in Fredericton.

Of special feature in this new exhibition is a rare 1920s canvas-cedar Cruiser canoe from the museum’s permanent collection. This canoe was passed down through three generations of the McKinley family, and traversed the rivers of New Brunswick for over 73 years. Originally owned by Tom McKinley, who shared a salmon fishing lease with Albert Babkirk near Juniper, the Cruiser would have been an ideal choice for the Southwest Miramichi.

The Cruiser’s flat-bottomed shape and sturdy construction created an extremely stable design that enabled users to safely stand while paddling (“poling”), as well as fly-fishing. More on the history of the McKinley canoe (including an interview with the donor, Pierrette McKinley) can be found here: McKinley Canoe

Paddling through Time: Honouring Fredericton’s Chestnut Canoe – Voyager à travers le temps : Hommage au canot Chestnut de Fredericton will open on Sunday June 28 at 2pm. Everyone is welcome.

The Fredericton Region Museum is honoured to have worked in partnership with a long list of dedicated professionals and volunteers to make this exhibition possible. We are also grateful to financial support provided by the City of Fredericton, Province of New Brunswick (Archaeology and Heritage Branch), and the York-Sunbury Historical Society.

For more information, please contact:
Alena Krasnikova, Executive Director
Fredericton Region Museum www.frederictonregionmuseum.com
Email: frederictonregionmuseum@gmail.com or phone 506-455-6041
Facebook | Instagram