Ontario Canoe Co. and the Peterborough Canoe Co.

John Stephenson could have been the first person to make a board canoe in the 1860’s. Regardless of whether it was him or T. Gordon, Stephenson continued to be a major innovator and indeed, inventor of wooden canoes as it was he who patented the Cedar Rib canoe in 1879 and the Longitudinal Strip in 1883. Stephenson ended up selling many of his canoe forms and patents to T.Z. Rogers who opened the Ontario Canoe Company in 1883. After a fire destroyed the Ontario Canoe Co. factory in May 1892, Rogers incorporated the Peterborough Canoe Co. later that year. The company grew to be the largest and most well known canoe company making all-wood and later, cedar-canvas canoes as well.