McConkey

In 1845, Thomas McConkey and his wife Jane arrived in Canada from Ireland on a ship called the St. George. They arrived in the hamlet, now known as McConkey. The McConkey train station was located at the back of the McConkey farm on the east half of Lot 20 Concession 1. The station was built in 1907 and used for approximately 35 years. Area farms used the station to ship produce and receive supplies to operate surrounding farms. The McConkey family bought 212 acres for $700, paid in British gold currency. They had four children, Charlotte, Robert, John, and Tom Jr.; all were born in a log house near the side road, now called Road 88. When Charlotte was 10, her parents sent her to New York City to study at Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn and later at two private schools. When Charlotte returned to Zorra, she taught her family what she had learned. At 22, she moved to London to study music. The farmhouse here now was built in 1860, triple-bricked, and in the style of those in Ireland at the time. The original house had nine bedrooms, all with fireplaces in each.