Fred Harris Canvasback Drake

Fred Harris (b. 1870s) Port Clinton, OH c. 1900 15" long

Winous Point Shooting Club canvasback drake where Harris worked as a punter and made many decoys for the members. The club inventory or ID number is painted under the rump in a small white painted square, '92'.

Founded in 1856 on the shores of Sandusky Bay near Port Clinton, Ohio, the Winous Point Shooting Club is the oldest continuously operated duck hunting club in North America. The club grew from a group of Cleveland-area sportsmen and naturalists who gathered at a meeting place known as “The Ark,” where they shared an interest in hunting, taxidermy, and the study of wildlife. Twenty members initially purchased 205 acres at Winous Point and established a private hunting preserve on the Lake Erie marshes. Among the club’s later members were prominent figures including financier Jay Cooke, Lincoln adviser and diplomat John Hay, and inventor Charles F. Brush.

Winous Point became closely associated with the development of modern waterfowl conservation. Club members began keeping detailed records of their hunts and, as they witnessed declining waterfowl populations and the loss of surrounding wetlands, instituted their own harvest restrictions. The club was the first duck hunting club in the nation to prohibit spring shooting and later became a leader in wetland research, wildlife management, and conservation. In 1999, the Winous Point Marsh Conservancy was established to protect and manage the surrounding wetlands, which today encompass roughly 5,000 acres.

Condition: Very good and original with scattered paint flaking

Provenance: Dennis Forthofer Collection

Provenance

Dennis Forthofer Collection