University of Wisconsin Anthropologist Dr. Sissel Schroeder and Wisconsin Historical Society Marine Archaeologist Tamara Tomsen will present their findings on the Iola Historical Society’s historic dugout canoe that was found in Selmer Lake, north of Iola.  Their work is to catalog all known dugout canoes from Wisconsin, no matter where they are now located.

The presentation will be in the Machine Shed, 222 Depot Street, on Monday, April 29, at 6:30 p.m.

In previous correspondence with the HIS, Ray P. Reser of the UW-Stevens Point Museum of Natural History wrote that the canoe was made out of “… Red Pine for the type of wood the dugout was made from. Red Pine is native to most WI counties in the central and northern half of the state.”

“I would personally guess this is historic based on steel tool manufacturing marks and overall condition, probably 1850s-1860s, and had the stern cut off flat at a later time. Could be Menominee or possibly Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) in origin as they were both common historic visitors and prehistoric residents in the Waupaca County area,” he explained.

In 2015, Alex C. Wiedenhoeft of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and associated with the Center for Wood Anatomy Research wood identification service indicated that the canoe belonged to the Red Pine Group.