Tom was born in Lower Canada (Quebec) in 1833. He grew up in Canada West (East of Ottawa) and moved to Douro Township (Lakefield) in the early 1850s.
He became an accomplished carpenter and shipwright and is credited with being one of the inventors of the board canoe. On his own and partnering with local Lakefield artisans, he continued the development of the canoe. He founded the Gordon Boat Building Factory in the 1870s, the home of many of his award-winning canoes. From the Gordon Factory, he shipped canoes worldwide.
In 1904 with Robert Stricklan and a group of local investors, he founded the Lakefield Canoe Building & MFG. Co. and continued in the development of canoes and rowboats. They also build homes. In 1916 the name was changed to the more familiar Lakefield Canoe Company Limited. Tom died in July 1916.
Tom was invited to the Colonial and Indian Exposition in London. The Catalogue entry reads Gordon, Thomas. The highest award was given to him by H.R.H. Prince of Wales (later King Edward V11). Tom received a medal and Scroll. With good eyes, you can see "Presented to Thomas Gordon" on the lower left. He also entered and won recognition and highest awards in Paris, and Antwerp, in the 1880s,
1876- The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Thomas Gordon was awarded this medal for the entry of his Cedar Board Canoes.
This is the medal awarded to Thomas Gordon at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition of 1886, held in London, England. It was the highest award and was presented by H.R.H., the Prince of Wales - later King Edward VII. (Five Gordon canoes were entered).
1893 World's Columbian Exposition (aka Chicago World's Fair) official contest winners medallion in bronze. Thomas Gordon had two entries. One was a folding canoe designed by Dr. Mellis Douglas, and the other was a skiff that he and Charles Grylls manufactured.
This medallion was Awarded to Thomas Gordon.
The "Cruiser" steamboat was built by Thomas Gordon and his partner, Shippe, early in 1879. Originally it was 60 feet long with a 12-foot beam. After the "Cruiser" was sold to Arthur J. Wright, with Charles Grylls as Captain, she ferried passengers from Lakefield to Lindsay for $.75 or round trip $1.00. Business must have been good. He put it in dry dock in 1890 and had it cut in half and twenty feet added to the center - now 80 feet long, it was relaunched in April of 1891.
Prominent Lakefield boatbuilders
Charles Grylls & Thomas Gordon take a test ride on the Otonabee River in a new model canoe. (This may have been one of the models entered in the 1893 Chicago Worlds Fair).
The Owner, Thomas Gordon, the gentleman with the beard, is checking on the production work of one of their famous canoes. (note the window shadow).
In June 1904, The Lakefield Canoe Building and Manufacturing Company Limited came into being from the amalgamation of Thomas Gordon, Manufacturer of Canoes, and the Lakefield Canoe Works, known formally as Strickland & Co. Along with other business and craftspeople. Its patent authorized it to manufacture, sell, and generally deal in boats and canoes of every description and to carry on the business of contractors for the erection of houses and other buildings.
A photo taken inside the original Lakefield Canoe Building and Manufacturing Company working out of the former People's Christian Association Hall located at 106 Queen Street before the fire that destroyed the building in December 1910 shows some of the skeleton canoes and the canoe builders hard at work.
A photo of the new brick Lakefield Canoe Company located at 106 Queen Street, built in 1911 after the original frame building was destroyed by fire the previous year. The Lakefield Canoe Company emerged with the amalgamation of the Thomas Gordon Canoe Factory and the Strickland Canoe Company in 1904. These two well-established firms supplied the markets of the world with boats of the finest quality, refusing to sacrifice quality despite keen price competition.
In February 1916, the original name was changed to the more familiar The Lakefield Canoe Company, Limited. The patriarch Thomas Gordon died soon after in July of 1916. The company subsequently endured hard times, and in 1919 it was forced to cease business. One has to consider that the First War raged from 1914 to 1918. Some companies which built things prospered or at least survived, but not Lakefield Canoe Company.
THE LAKEFIELD CANOE COMPANY LIMITED, LAKEFIELD, ONTARIO
Long years ago, the Indians used the Otonabee River and the waterways known as the Kawartha Lakes for the canoe routes between Lakes Huron and Ontario. Champlain and his Indians traversed this route three hundred years ago and are said to have camped near where the village of Lakefield now stands. At Lakefield, some sixty years ago, some of the early settlers conceived the idea of building canoes of light, strong board, combining the strength and swiftness of the dugout with the lightness of the birch bark. The necessary tools were bought, and the first Lakefield Canoe was built by one of the founders of the present company. The original manufacturers of the canoes were Thomas Gordon and members of the Strickland family.