Terry Boyle - Haunted Ontario 4: Encounters with Ghostly Shadows, Apparitions, and Spirits

~ Gananoque ~

He loved his home. It was history, his family, his power, and his prestige. He could not let it go not for anything. Not even death.

Everyone experiences some form of attachment. This yearning for association to a place, a person, or possessions can begin in youth and sometimes live even beyond the grave.

Charles MacDonald suffered from a yearning attachment. In his case it was to Blinkbonnie, his ancestral home. He was, after all, the last MacDonald to bear witness to an incredible journey dating back to 1810 in Gananoque, Ontario.

Gananoque is known as the Canadian gateway to the Thousand Islands. The name is a First Nations word that means both land which slopes toward the water and disappears under it, and place of good health.

One of the first land claims in the area was by Loyalist Joel Stone, who travelled to England in 1783 to petition for compensation for his losses in the American Revolution. Stone arrived in the area in 1787. There were two falls on the Gananoque River and for that reason he requested a land grant on both sides of the river. (Stone spelled the name of the place Cadanoryhqua and then Ganenoquay. In all, there have been fifty-two variations of the spelling of Gananoque. The present-day spelling first appeared in the 1820s.)

At the same time, Sir John Johnson, leader of a congregation of Loyalists from the Mohawk Valley and a member of the Executive Council, also petitioned for the same land. Johnson was granted one thousand acres on the east side of the Gananoque River and Stone was granted seven hundred acres on the west side. The first store, grist mill, and tavern were opened in 1792 by Stone.

The next stage of growth did not occur until Charles McDonald arrived in 1810 from New York State. He soon became a business partner with Stone and only one year later he married Stones only daughter, Mary.

In 1812, Charles built a new frame home for his wife. He named his house Blinkbonnie, a Scottish name meaning good to the eyes or good view. Charles persuaded his brother John, of New York State, to join him in partnership on January 17, 1818, under the firm name C. & J. McDonald. By 1824 the brothers had acquired the property that had originally been granted to Sir John Johnson, on the east side of the river. Now that had the river to generate power. A survey established the site for the village of Gananoque.

Two years later the McDonalds build the largest flour mill in Canada. At one time it was estimated that one quarter of all the flour sent to Montreal came from the Gananoque mill.

Unfortunately, Charles McDonald died in 1826, at the age of forty. A fire destroyed Blinkbonnie that same year. Charles eldest son, William Stone MacDonald (he changed the spelling of his surname), joined his late fathers firm in 1833. Blinkbonnie was completely restored and expanded by 1843. William lived at Blinkbonnie with his wife, Isabella Hall, and cared for his invalid mother during the restoration years.

William and Isabellas son, Charles, was born in 1837, and became a civil engineer. In 1869 he opened an office in New York City, where he was appointed a trustee in the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. When William Stone MacDonald died in 1902, Charles inherited the property. He made extensive renovations to the main house and the surrounding buildings.

When Charless wife died in 1912, he gave his son, William, all the property and securities of the MacDonald family.

William, known about town as Mr. Willie, lived in Brooklyn, New York, but spent his summers at Blinkbonnie with his father, Charles. William died of a sudden heart attack in 1920 without a will and all the holdings, including Blinkbonnie, were sold to settle the estate. Charles wept at the prospect of losing the ancestral home.

School teacher Rebecca Edwards purchased Blinkbonnie in 1923, and proceeded to convert the property into a summer hotel. Charles MacDonald begged Miss Edwards to allow him to take up residence at his beloved Blinkbonnie for his remaining years. Fortunately she was delighted to let him do so. She even searched for some of the family antiques that had been sold to furnish his living quarters. Those she could not find she replaced with objects of equal age and style. Charles, restored to his original home, was a fortunate and happy man. He died in 1928, but many feel he never did leave Blinkbonnie.

Blinkbonnies reputation as one of the finest hotels in the Thousand Islands spread far and wide. This fame was deserved, for the accommodations were excellent and the grounds and gardens breathtaking. Miss Edwards was very particular in her care of each guest room. She continued to restore and refine Blinkbonnie with fine linens, beautiful china, and period lamps and figurines. The staff were all well trained and encouraged to feel like part of the family. All the MacDonald buildings were eventually converted to guesthouses, as well as the adjacent carriage houses and cottages.

Sadly, Miss Edwards determination to maintain this level of excellence finally cost her the hotel, because she did not have the means to maintain it after her retirement from teaching. Blinkbonnie was sold in 1957, divided into private homes, and was passed to many successive owners. It became a dark shadow of its former self.

Only Charles remained a witness to the sad changes. Did Rebecca Edwards choose to stay as well? Did her years of ownership and love of Blinkbonnie hold her to it?

In 1983, the Seal family purchased the historic inn. Their intent was to restore the nineteenth-century building and property to its former glory.

The restored Blinkbonnie Harbour Inn features fifty units, including whirlpool suites, a bistro restaurant, a pool, and an English-style pub. The convention facilities can accommodate up to 120 people. Derek, the maintenance supervisor, has spent the last thirteen years taking care of the building, the property, and the guests of the inn and perhaps Charles himself.

I often hear footsteps and doors opening and closing, and sometimes I can hear a woman singing in the lounge area, said Derek. Of course no one is to be seen.

A few years ago, Derek encountered a man at Blinkbonnie who claimed to be a psychic. According to him, he could sense the presence of a man, a woman, and a little girl. For years, people have acknowledged the presence of Charles MacDonalds spirit. But who could the woman and the little girl be?

Miss Edwards is thought to be the woman, possibly too attached to leave. After all, she put her heart and soul into Blinkbonnie. As for the little girl, no one seems to know.

The third floor of Blinkbonnie has not been used for several years. Water and electricity is shut off to this level. One night after closing time, Derek was making his final rounds of the building when he heard water running. Oddly enough, the sound was coming from the third floor. Derek and a fellow employee, Mark, started up the stairs. Yes, there was water running somewhere on the third floor. How could this be when the water was shut off to this level?

The men soon discovered that the sound was coming from the bathroom. As they stood outside the door the noise stopped. They entered cautiously. The bathtub was full of water. And there was something even more bizarre about the tub full of water there was no stopper in the drain!

Mark is quite familiar with Blinkbonnie. He grew up across the street from the inn. In the fall of 1985 he started to work there full-time as a bus boy. I worked as a waiter, night man, bartender, maintenance person, and finally assistant manager. I lived up on the third floor for two years in 1987 to 88. In those days the inn closed down for the winter and I would be the only person residing in the building.

He has much to relate about ghostly activity. Once, in the middle of the night, I heard this loud crash in the bathroom. I sat up. I decided to check it out. When I entered the bathroom, I discovered the glass globe that covered the ceiling light bulb had crashed to the floor and broken. The light bulb was screwed in and intact. You would have to unscrew it in order for the globe to fall to the floor.