Hello, I'm Carla and welcome to my home which was named after the original fruit and vegetable farm, Bonnybank Farm. It is situated on the banks of the Twenty Mile Creek, which creates Jordan Harbor, which then flows north into Lake Ontario. Looking south, we are two minutes through the valley from the village of Jordan and are 20 minutes to Niagara Falls. We are next door to the world-famous Owl Foundation founded by Mrs. Kay McKeever. It is, in fact, her family home (the Clarkes) that we bought. The Owl Foundation is not open to the public but it is wonderful to hear the caged owls singing in the surrounding woodlands.
My historic American Tudor Revival house was built in stages by Roger and Muriel Clarke from 1919 through to 1938, with records of the land purchased in 1799 from the Crown by Lieutenant Andrew Butler. The Clarkes bought it from E.D. Smith (of the famous E. D. Smith jam company who had planted the farm with orchards) who was her uncle. The legacy is the gnarled old cherry trees in the front yard, which in the Spring are covered in clouds of white blossoms and by mid June, cherries! The history of this house is documented in a journal written by Muriel. The house itself is made of pink Grimsby sandstone which was salvaged from a nearby pier of the old Grand Trunk Railway. The windows are lead glass panes in diamond shapes.
The interior is made of oak, pear, cherry and stone all harvested from the property. There are two fireplaces, the one in the study having been hand-carved with flowers by the famous Ottawa naturalist and author Adam Shortt. The evolution of the property, the gardens and the house are documented in writings and photographs in this journal, which was passed to me when I became the 3rd owner of the house. Dr. James Gibson, the first President of Brock University, was the second owner.