Donevan's Hardware: A Living Piece of Canadian History
GANANOQUE, Ontario — Sometimes the best stories begin with a conversation on the sidewalk.
While standing on King Street taking in the downtown, a man pulled up on his bicycle, leaned it against a parking meter and asked, "Do you know what you're standing in front of?"
When told no, he smiled.
"That's the oldest continuously operating hardware store in all of Canada."
The building behind him was Donevan's Hardware, a family-owned business that has served the Gananoque community since 1872. More than 150 years later, the store remains much as generations of customers have remembered it, with worn wooden floors, shelves stacked high with hardware and the unmistakable feel of a traditional neighborhood hardware store.
Photo Credit: HonGo David Robertson
Inside, visitors are greeted by Mary Donevan, the great-granddaughter of James Donevan, who purchased the business in 1872. While helping operate the family store, Mary has also established herself as an artist.
Throughout the store, her mosaics hang among the tools, antiques and hardware. Each piece is created from broken teacups and china collected over the years or donated by friends and customers. Rather than discarding damaged porcelain, she transforms it into colorful artwork, giving each fragment a second life.
The artwork blends naturally into the character of the store, reinforcing the idea that craftsmanship takes many forms.
Sitting behind the counter was Gordon McFarlane. At first glance, it would be easy to assume he owns the business. He greets customers with the familiarity of someone who has spent years there and speaks easily about the store's history.
McFarlane explained how the Donevan family has guided the business through six generations while adapting to changing times without losing the qualities that have made it a fixture in downtown Gananoque.
Photo Credit: HonGo David Robertson
Never getting past the counter area, one could not but feel that tools, plumbing supplies and bins of fasteners peppered the store along with antiques, locally made gifts, handcrafted items and Mary's mosaics. The result is part hardware store, part gallery and part museum, reflecting both the history of the business and the community it has served for more than a century.
Donevan's Hardware is also closely associated with Charlie Donevan, who spent more than 70 years working in the family business and became one of Gananoque's most recognizable residents before his death in 2024 at age 99. His legacy remains evident throughout the store, where longtime customers still share stories of stopping in simply to visit with him.
Independent hardware stores like Donevan's have become increasingly rare. Large retail chains have replaced many neighborhood businesses that once served as gathering places as much as retail stores.
Donevan's continues to offer something that cannot be duplicated by a big-box retailer: personal knowledge, family history and a sense of community built over generations.
Sometimes it takes nothing more than a stranger on a bicycle to point visitors toward a place where history is still being made one customer at a time.