Early Native Americans built canoes by hollowing out long sections of trees, usually cypress, often using fire to help hollow and shape the log. European settlers adopted the design after seeing how well dugouts worked on the region’s waterways and made their own, calling these boats “kunners.” Dugouts remained common in this region until the 1930s. This canoe was found in the bed of the Roanoke River around 1950, and details suggest it was built in the late 1800s or early 1900s.