Blinkbonnie was the beloved home of 5 generations of the Macdonald family until Blinkbonnie became a majestic stately inn in the Canadian Thousand Islands in the 1920’s. Blinkbonnie was home to a famous resident in his day, Charles Macdonald, ASCE. Charles leaves a legacy as one of the most accomplished civil engineers of his generation. Charles was the owner of three bridge companies and a dedicated community leader serving on boards of directors for museums, foundations and commissions to investigate bridge failures. Macdonald was considered one of the leading bridge engineers of his time and became one of the preeminent authorities on iron bridge construction in his day. He had a role in designing and building many famous bridges including the Hawkesbury Bridge in Australia, Poughkeepsie Bridge across the Hudson River in New York State and as a trustee of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City which opened in 1883. Blinkbonnie was built in 1812 by the first Charles Mcdonald. Charles had been instrumental in developing Gananoque as a town. He married the daughter of Joel Stone, the founder of Gananoque. After a few years Charles was well-off enough to build the first Blinkbonnie. That first house burned to the ground in 1826, the year Charles died at the age of 40. His son, William Stone, changed the family name to Macdonald and inherited Blinkbonnie.
