Annie C.

Annie C.. Log Canoe. , As John Smith helped settle Jamestown, he admired the capabilities of the Native Americans' log canoes. Colonists adopted the log canoe and used iron tools to improve the design. Early canoes were made from a single log, but as the need arose for larger boats, colonists fastened two or more logs together to create a boat with more beam, or width. As their shallow bottoms made creek and inlet navigation easy, log canoes were perfect for the Eastern Shore.

In 1904, Covington Corbin hired Horace Bundick, a waterman and carpenter, to build this five-log canoe. Corbin named her the Annie C. after his mother, Annie Corbin. The Annie C. was larger than most log canoes at the time, with a deck length of 45 feet and a beam of 9.5 feet.

The Annie C. was used from 1904 to 1978, during which she was utilized for oystering in the winter and clamming and crabbing in the summer. Her home ports were Sanford and Saxis on the Eastern Shore, but she often crossed the Chesapeake Bay for oystering in the James and Potomac rivers. She was crewed by three or four men: two to three worked the oyster tongs while another culled the oysters. The crew slept in the cabin during the winter months, as she had a small wood stove for heat and cooking.

Though the Annie C. started life as a "pure" sailboat, she was outfitted with a 16-horsepower engine in 1910. As larger engines were installed, her owners removed the mast and sail. During a 1978 storm, she sank. By 1980, she had been retrieved, but restoration work on her had been abandoned. In 1989, Frank Young, a relative of the Corbin's, learned of the Annie C. Recognizing her historic value, he purchased her, and, in 1995, he donated her to the Eastern Shore of Virginia Historical Society under the leadership of Dr. Harry Holcomb and Mrs. Benjamin Mears.