St. Helena II

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The St. Helena II is a canal boat that was built by a 10-man team under the direction of the Stark County Historical Society. The builders included Paul Baird, Clyde Gainey, Carrol Gantz, Gale Hartel, Jim Guest, Ed Harriman, Dick Mohler, Pete Neidert, Roy Preece and Walter Smith[1]. The boat was first dedicated on July 11th, 1970 and retired in November of 1994. The boat currently is on display outdoors behind the Old Canal Days Heritage House Museum in St. Helena Heritage Park.

Dedication July 11, 1970.jpg

The boat was among the first canal boat reproductions created on the Ohio & Erie Canal. The plans for the boat were based on a scale model by W.J. McLaughlin, who encountered the St. Helena over the years working as a repairman at the McLaughlin Drydock. The St. Helena was one of the boats he remembered well - so well that he created a model of the boat in 1933 based on his memory of the boat. This model was used by C.M. Gantz to design the St. Helena II.

Building the Canal Boat

During the construction of the St. Helena II,