My name is Blinkbonnie

My name is Blinkbonnie. Charles McDonald built me as a simple frame home after arriving in Gananoque in 1810. He married Mary Stone, daughter of Joel Stone, the town’s founder. I have only vague memories of the years between Charles bringing Mary home in 1812 and the awful year of 1826.

Although things weren't all that peaceful during those 14 years. We were always awaiting the next happening. I did eventually realize there was a pattern to those events. First a noisy, bustling time with lots of people living and visiting in the house, eating large meals in the special room. Then a quiet time with few people, their simple meals eaten mostly in the kitchen. There were always children, mostly boys, who hurrahed through the house, and all looked the same to me. I watched for Charles with interest but it seemed he was usually out working or away on business. Charles was a busy, well-respected businessman and force in the community. He seemed so proud of me. His Blinkbonnie, meaning ‘beautiful to the eye' as he loved to say.

Near Death Experience

Then in 1826, I had a near death experience and things changed a lot. A fire left my structure in ash and rubble. I diminished. Not just my building was gone, Charles died in October of 1826. My family scattered to other homes. The things that had fed my life force were gone. I huddled into my foundation stones and mourned. I let go a little more each day and sank deeper into the earth. Then, life began again over me. People came to dig and clear, finding pieces of me and their life that could be rescued.

They became a stronger family every day. All except Mary, who was never strong in any way. She remained a weird, weepy, wild child in a woman’s body. I took an interest in learning about the rest of my family then. William Stone was an interesting mix of hurrahing boy and adult, caring for his mother and two younger brothers. John Lewis and Charles Joel were either hurrahing or sleepy children.

Strength of women

When death took Charles, his brother John had taken charge, burying his sadness by being there to help others. My family grew to actively include all of Charles and Mary’s children. I learned a lot about the strength of women during that time. So many women. Mary’s stepmother, Abigail, and Charles’ sisters organized and did a good deal of the work. It was Mary’s step niece Henrietta, young, enthusiastic, and energetic who did most of the work however. It was Henrietta and John who kept track of the three energetic, inquisitive boys and their adventures.

As time passed, I realized that the strong connection between my people did not include me. I wondered if perhaps my time had passed, and I would not be rebuilt. Then Joel Stone died, and William Stone McDonald was brought into the family business. He began to visit me more often. Eventually, he began to plan my rebirth as his family home. It took time, a lot of time, for him to get to the point of making these dreams a reality.

After 16 years

He did rebuild me, much expanded, with local materials. It was 16 years after the fire before that was completed. William’s family was started before I was finished. I sometimes think that is why I was so important to his son, young Charles. He was born into the anticipation of moving into me, watching, waiting for me to be ready. Once William Stone, his wife, Isabella, young Charles, and the other children did move in, it was such a peaceful happy time.

Years passed and with the death of William Stone McDonald, there began to be empty times as well as family times. That all ended when Rebecca Edwards arrived in my life with a new kind of hurrahing energy. She was soon joined by an aged ‘young’ Charles. Isabella Margaret McDonald moved in to look after her aging father, ‘young’ Charles. Rebecca's sister Mary Agnes, and her brother-in-law James Martin Taylor also moved in. James looked after my gardens. There was so much bustle during those days, so much staff to look after me and the people who came and went every day. I started to look forward to winter and more peaceful times.

Blinkbonnie Inn

Rebecca converted me into a hotel or inn. And my reputation went far beyond the limits of Gananoque. In fact, I was considered one of the finest in the Thousand Islands, not only for my accommodations but for the beautiful gardens and appearance.

I remember the special care Rebecca took in furnishing each room. All drapes, bedspreads, rugs, and towels matched. Every guest room was decorated with fine china, figurines and lamps.

I liked Rebecca, although I wasn’t so sure about her lady friends’ interest in ghosts. Seems they might have had it right though – Charles and Rebecca have shuffled off the mortal coil, but I do believe they still wander my rooms.

After Rebecca

But sadly, I had some more unhappy times ahead. In a nutshell, my description of these days is the one in the Gananoque Museums booklet ‘A History of Gananoque:”

“Unfortunately, during the 1970s and early '80s, the hotel became an eyesore both inside and out due to a lack of proper upkeep and a disregard for the significance that the building once had. It became a rundown place with a rough name – a strip joint with mud wrestling. However, all of this changed early in 1984 when a local family, Seal Resorts Limited, purchased the property and began renovations.”

Renovation helped for a while, but eventually, not fit for use as tourist accommodation, my ten bedrooms and five baths languished unused except by spiders and bugs. My future became the subject of much debate in Gananoque and further away. From 2018 to 2022, descendants of my McDonald family hoped to rescue me. They planned to use my public spaces for the community so that everyone could enjoy the ambiance of days gone by – the chandeliers, fireplaces, wood trim, and floors. Sadly, it was not to be, and I was sold again.

Now Content

I am content these days. There are people caring for me, slowly giving me a makeover, and yet leaving me as me, if a more modern me. Why should I have to remain frozen in time, when others grow? I am glad to have my history respected while letting me grow with the world in which I stand.

Author’s note:

There were three things around which I expected to build this piece of heritage fiction: the rise and fall of Blinkbonnie the Inn, the interesting woman Rebecca Edwards, and where the family was between the 1826 fire and the rebuild of Blinkbonnie. Unexpectedly, the latter became the focus and had me rethinking and rewriting a lot. The gap between the fire and the rebuild may have been much longer than recent descriptions suggest. It seems from what I have found that it was William Stone McDonald who rebuilt Blinkbonnie and probably not for a decade or more.

By Sherry L.B. Johnson

Sherry Johnson lives in Gananoque and is a writer and researcher for GanWalking, which is focused on heritage storytelling, research and building a strong accessible research, and genealogy community. Sherry has provided over half-dozen articles for TI Life. Each one provides a window of research on this small and proud Ontario town. In April '25 Issue of TI Life. Sherry presented My Name is Belle Vue - At that time she wrote, "This piece of heritage fiction grew out of realizing that we in Gan are a lot less familiar with John McDonald and his family than we are with his brother, Charles McDonald and his family. We are about equally knowledgeable about their houses, the Blinkbonnie and Town Hall. It probably helps that both are rumoured to be quite haunted!"

Thousand Islands Life, My Name is Belle Vue

My name is Belle Vue, but you more likely know me as the Gananoque Town Hall. I stand in the middle of a delightful park. . .

Thousand Islands Life MagazineSherry L. B. Johnson

[Copy Editor's Note: My Dad was hired by Parmenter and Bulloch in early 1963, but while he was house-hunting, he lived at the Blinkbonnie for a few months. I remember coming to visit while he still lived there and being totally in awe of the giant tropical clam shells that flanked the front door. I often wonder what happened to them . . . ]