By the end of the nineteenth century, wealthy
American "sports" had discovered the New Brunswick wilderness and arrived via the
Saint John River in the
Maine-built wood-canvas canoes of
B.N. Morris,
E.M. White, and
E.H. Gerrish. Brothers William and Henry Chestnut, inheritors of their father's hardware business, became aware of the interest in canvas-covered canoes but knew importing them from the
United States would substantially increase price due to import duties. Early Chestnut canoes clearly show the influence of the Morris. When Chestnut's business increased to the degree that additional experienced builders were required, William Chestnut ventured to Maine and aggressively recruited men from the
Old Town factory. Old Town responded by filing a lawsuit and threatened to set up a factory of their own in Canada. The Chestnut Company left Fredericton, moving to a new factory in
Oromocto, New Brunswick in 1974. The factory closed for good in 1978, shipping their last canoe in December of that year. The company had intended to produce 300 Special Edition Indian Maiden canoes, but only a prototype and two other canoes were made. On September 12, 1978, the Chestnut plant in Oromocto, New Brunswick was closed and all 55 employees laid off. The last canoe, numbered 2 of 300 was sold to William Miller in Windsor, Ontario at the Canadian National Exhibition and was constructed after the plant had actually closed when he sent additional funds to have it completed. Most of the Chestnut molds survive and are being used in several wooden canoe shops in Canada. Swift Canoe in Ontario bought some of the molds and made Chestnut tribute canoes, including the Prospector model. ==Models==