The Heart of the Nowedonah

The Southampton History Museum is proud to host the building of the Nowedonah, a St. Ayles rowing skiff. Construction is taking place at the historic Sayre Barn on the grounds of the Rogers Mansion throughout the spring and summer of 2024. The Nowedonah boat-building project is led by James “Keith” Phillips, a member of the Shinnecock Nation, with help from Andrew "Gumbo" Hurley and other local volunteers.

Updates on the Nowedonah project since our previous blog post.

The boat-building team has been doing a lot of sanding and planing during the past few weeks. It's hard work in the summer heat and humidity, but important steps to prepare the surface for painting and ensure the vessel is watertight.

Topcoat applied to the interior hull. Image by Keith Phillips.

Working on the hull's interior surface. Image by Keith Phillips.

Like creating a work of art, building a boat can be a surpising process as the object begins to take on a life of its own. Recently, Gumbo noticed a distinctive shape in the hull. He looked over at Keith and said, "Hey, look at that heart in the wood."

The shape of a heart emerges from the Nowedonah's hull on July 2, 2024. Image by Keith Phillips.

Although her "heart" has been covered by the boat's interior primer and topcoat, we all know it is still there. The Nowedonah continues to reveal more of her unique inner beauty as the project moves along.

Topcoat applied inside the bow. Image by Keith Phillips.

The cream color of the boat's interior reminds Keith of the buckskin regalia worn by his cousin, Princess Nowedonah. Once the interior painting is finished, the boat will be flipped over to begin final work on the outside of the hull.

Lois Marie Hunter "Princess Nowedonah" (1904-1975), pictured above second from the right, was an educator, advocate, and historian of the Shinnecock community. Left to right: Princess Wyandank, Princess Red Fox, Princess Nowedonah, and Chief Thunder Bird. Image: ca. mid-20th c. photograph, courtesy of the Patchogue-Medford Library and the Shinnecock Portrait Project.

Stop by the Sayre Barn on weekday afternoons to watch the Nowedonah come to life!

Read our previous blog post to learn more about the Nowedonah project.