Herbert John Linthorne, (Bert) was born in1889 at Bonavista, Newfoundland, the son of Robert and Elizabeth Way. In 1924 he married Lizzie Groves (1888), daughter of Alexander and Mary Ann Carroll. The couple had three children: Eva Marguerite (1925), Clarence Ralph (1927 - 1930) and Clarice Joyce (1930).

At the age of 14, Herbert left for California. While there he built, restored and sold houses. After his return to Newfoundland, now in his early thirties,  he built a home in  Bonavista in a  similar style he learned to build while in California. This style of building was unusual for Bonavista. It housed his own general store on the ground floor and an apartment-style home on the second floor.

 

Herbert first opened his general store in 1924. He dealt mainly in dry goods and hardware but he also had a side business as a salmon exporter. Herbert purchased salmon from local fishermen and then packed and shipped to buyers in Newfoundland, the Canadian mainland and Boston. Herbert was also a member of the Masonic Hall in Bonavista with the title of Outside Tiler (or Outside Tyler also known as the Outside Guard). Herbert John Linthorne died in 1965.

Herbert's daughter, Eva Marguerite spent her early childhood in Bonavista. After finishing high school she worked for a year at the James Ryan Limited Retail Store in Bonavista as a clerk. Marguerite then went to a private school in St. John’s to study business. After completing her education she obtained a job with a St. John’s insurance company where she worked for five years. She then became ill and returned to Bonavista to live. While in Bonavista she maintained the financial aspects of her father’s business, doing the book work for him and for fisherman. She also worked as a clerk in her father’s store. Marguerite continued to work for her father until his death. By this time her mother was bedridden and she could no longer maintain the store herself. Everything in the store was sold for half price. Any merchandise left over went to James Ryan Limited. 

 

In 1966 Marguerite was asked to rent the space which previously occupied her father’s business in order to develop the Bonavista Museum. The ​librarian for Bonavista, Jack Miles, died earlier that year and since it was no longer acceptable for the Jack Miles collection of artifacts to stay at the Bonavista Library, Herbert Linthorne’s General Store was used to display them. This was the beginning of the Bonavista Museum.

 

In 1997 the Bonavista Museum moved to a new location at the Ryan Premises National Historic Site. Marguerite retired from her position as Bonavista museum curator, archivist and secretary of the Bonavista Historical Society. For many years the building remained unoccupied. In the early 2000s, the Historical Society purchased the building in order to preserve its historical significance and unique style of architecture.

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In 2014, Bonavista Creative purchase the Linthorne building from the local Historical Society and started restoration. Today the original living quarters of Bert Linthorne and his family are available to as a nightly rental through the Russelltown Inn & Vacation Homes. The main floor of this property is used as a commercial space where customers can visit two local artisan shops, Sweet Rick Ice Cream and Treeline Fine Art & Craft.