Donevan’s

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1872 – 2072

 

The Vision Continues                                     

 

The Original Joel Stone Trading Post & Community Hub 

                                             

A Step Back in Time – A Leap into The Future

 

   The original Joel Stone Trading Post brought the people of Gananoque and surrounding area together in one very important venue to meet the basic needs of the community, both economically and socially.
  It was the central hub for trading, selling, and sharing home and farm grown produce, milk, eggs, meats and cheeses, preserves, local handmade goods, manufactured products and services.
  James Donevan along with Col Russel Britton had the good fortune to inherit the original trading post and James, Charles Sr and Charlie continued to run it as Donevan’s, successfully for another 150 years.
  The original Joel Stone Gananoque Trading Post/Donevan’s Hardware has always been there to serve the needs of the community and evolved over time.
  The skills, talents and interests of those proprietors shaped the future of the business, while attending to the needs and specific requirements of the community.
  Over time, as the village modernized, the needs and requirements of the community changed and therefore businesses changed along with those demands.
  The combination of produce and products branched out to become more specific and specialized. Produce and foods moved into grocery stores, meat shops, and bakeries. 
  Donevan’s specialized in handmade and manufactured local Canadian and imported housewares, kitchenware, china, silverware, glassware, giftware and hardware. Services of glass and key cutting, household repairs, home and industrial heating, plumbing, electrical, and tin smithing evolved. The store grew and expanded, moving into two consecutively larger buildings to accommodate the community’s growing demand for their diverse products and services.
     Donevan’s can no longer compete with the wide range of diversified and less expensive products, and yet is still able to carry hard to find items, and provide services such as expert key cutting, glass cutting and screen replacement.
  In keeping with the Donevan’s tradition, Charlie Donevan had a vision of returning to the bustling prosperous community based business Donevan’s once was.
  The original trading post idea, and returning to the community requirements concept will surely enhance the needs of this community based on the past, present and future.

   Using an 1860’s model, similar to Upper Canada Village, and other pioneer village shops, we propose the coming together of interested local producers, artisans, artists, musicians, writers and historians to showcase and sell their work. All with a period theme and flair.

   Donevan’s will continue to evolve over time. These are just our initial ideas and a starting point for the transformation/re-invention and return to a financially viable and purposeful showcase venue. Donevan’s is the perfect location for this venture and properly funded, could be THE historical tourist attraction Gananoque is missing!

 

Charlie can no longer be seen sitting in his chair around the fire, but his spirit still inhabits the building. After all, this is his home and always will be. Yes you can feel it. He might not be able to help you, but we can.

The phrase "may I help you" carries the commitment of four generations - It will never die!

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                                                                        Donevan’s

                                                                   

             Irish Heritage                                                   Canadian Values