Beaver Island ArchiveA primary-source archive & encyclopedia45°40′N 85°33′W · Lake Michigan
Search

Event

Centennial Farm plaque presented to the Bonner farm, 1964

Also 1964 Bonner Farm Centennial designation

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

Locator map: Beaver Island highlighted within the Beaver Island archipelago
Took place at Beaver IslandLocator plate © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); depths NOAA; names USGS GNIS. How the plates are drawn.
TypeEvent
Date1964-10-11
WithinBeaver Island
ErasModern era
On this page
Locator map: Beaver Island highlighted within the Beaver Island archipelago
Took place at Beaver IslandLocator plate © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0); depths NOAA; names USGS GNIS. How the plates are drawn.
Event
Date
1964-10-11
Kind
Award
Where
Beaver Island
Eras
Modern era
Concepts
heritageagricultureland-surveycommunity
Within
Beaver Island

Summary

On October 11, 1964, J. C. Sutton and Murray Wanty presented Patrick and Rose Bonner with a plaque designating the Bonner farm a Centennial Farm, according to the October Beaver Beacon. Friends and neighbors visited during the presentation. The article says the farm’s history began with John Bonner’s 1857 purchase of 80 acres from James and Nancy Farrell for $200 and continued through Patrick and Rose’s residence and use of the land for more than a century. It calls the farm the only Centennial Farm in Charlevoix County.

Evidence and limits

The newspaper supports the presentation, designation, and locally reported historical narrative. It does not provide the official program record, plaque text, deed chain, or precise parcel survey.

Sources

  1. Reports J. C. Sutton and Murray Wanty presenting a plaque to Patrick and Rose Bonner on October 11, and repeats the family and land-use history: John Bonner fished from Mackinaw near Gull Island during the Strang era, bought 80 acres from James and Nancy Farrell for $200 in 1857, and established the farm with his wife Sophia. Their youngest son Patrick, born in September 1882, and Rose later built the home and continued residence and use of the land. It does not provide the program registry, deed, plaque text, or exact parcel survey.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 1964-10_Beaver-Beacon
  2. The held five-page issue scan is paired with the OCR source and confirms the published notice or report; it does not expand the source-specific identity, event, or outcome claims.
    data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 1964-10_Beaver-Beacon

Added 2 August 2026 · revised 3 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Centennial Farm plaque presented to the Bonner farm, 1964”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/bonner-farm-centennial-plaque-1964/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, October 1964, “Historic Plaque Presented.” (and 1 further source listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-03. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

BibTeXRIS