Before the 20th Century, Pliny B. McNaughton brought his mother to WNY with the intent of purchasing land for a summer home. In 1892, he purchased roughly 20 acres of land known as Bristol Woods. Several years later, he bought two additional plots of land to complete the 27+ acre estate. Mr. McNaughton built the two-story residence, coachman's cottage and stable, along with the landmark water tower and doll house, all which still stand today. A greenhouse, a chicken coop, and a dance hall were also built, but have since been destroyed. This summer residence became known as the Glen Isabel.
The McNaughton's estate was one of the largest estates in WNY. Acres of fruit orchards, rolling lawns and extensive flower gardens made the property one of the most prestigious in the area as well. To complete the summer home, a large in-ground swimming pool was added off the north side of the house. (Now the main parking lot) This pool was the very first in-ground swimming pool in the WNY area. Since modern filtration systems didn't exist at the time, when the pool water became dirty, it would be pumped out and refilled by the local fire company.

Mr. McNaughton was Vice President and General Manager of the Buffalo Dredging Company. The anchor chains across the front of the property came from the canals cleaned by his company. He later associated with Michael Shea in the theatrical business and the estate became known as the place to preview movies. Trips to the "country-estate" were made by trolley, with a stop at the McNaughton's dance hall located behind the main house. (Remains of the dance hall are still present today if you cross the south bridge over the creek).

Upon P.B McNaughton's death, the property transferred to his daughter, Harriet McNaughton Hubbell, wife of Nelson E. Hubbell. Mrs. Hubbell continued to live alone in the house for many years after her husband's death. For security, Harriet owned a gun. One evening, while carrying the gun upstairs, she stumbled and accidentally discharged the weapon. The bullet hole is still in the stairwell wall.

Sadly, after almost 80 years as the McNaughton family's private residence, the estate went up for auction in August of 1971. Mr. Vincent C. Bonerb purchased the estate and made extensive changes to the buildings. The most significant changes were made to the main house. The tall white columns and peak were added to the front of the house, while the interior was made into office space for the U.S. Sugar Company. The stable was converted into an apartment with a cathedral ceiling, sauna, and private gym with a second smaller apartment upstairs. A research and development addition was also added to the back of the stable.

Apparently, Mr. Bonerb flew his helicopter to and from work so, to accommodate a proper landing pad, most of the north fruit orchard was destroyed. In addition, 700 feet of electrical wire and phone cable had to be buried underground from South Park Avenue back to the current parking lot. Mr. Bonberb maintained this office space for the U.S. Sugar Company until December of 1994.

In January 1995, a local family leased the property with dreams of opening a restaurant in the main residence. After almost two years of remodeling, the Bristol Woods Inn opened for business in September 1996. Despite good reviews, after only 9 months, the restaurant was forced to close in June of 1997.

From 1997 until the fall of 2004, the property remained vacant and suffered extensively from neglect and vandalism. Even in its deteriorated state, Laurie and Dave Clark could envision the estate as the perfect location for their catering company, Avanti. With the help of some antique photographs and memories of local residence, the Clark's began to repair the once beautiful property.

In June 2005, after nine months of intense renovations, the grand opening of Avanti Mansion was celebrated.