History of the Dr. Parkin House In the early part of the nineteenth century, in the period immediately following the Napoleonic wars, there was a great scarcity of iron and other valuable metals in Britian and the colonies; so when iron ore was discovered in and around Blairton, plans were at once made by those in authority to have it mined, smelted and put into use. Money for this object was advanced by monied interests in Montreal and also by interested parties in England. Smelters and furnaces were located on the east side of the Crowe River in Marmora, just below the rapids. The names of the men in charge or those interested in this industry are in common use, as the street names - McGill, Hayes, Cameron, Bursthall and possibly Forsyth. Like all mining ventures it had its ups and downs, its busy periods and times of idleness. One of the first managers decided to build a manager's house. They had aquired much land and selected a large lot - Number 4 at the end of Main Street, south of Madoc Street, on the east side of the river. There they built a large square log house, perhaps 30 feet by 20 feet or even larger dimensions. To square those logs, dove-tail the corners and build such a place must have been a job for many good axe-men and carpenters. The roof was framed, as it is described, not just put on as the usual rafters are; the boards that covered it were clear pine and many inches wide without knots. The shingles were hand made from cedar. The house faced the river and along the front was a wide verandah. The front door opened into a wide hall with rooms on each side, long stairs led to the upper storey. The window panes were small, and there were 24 in each window. Four fireplaces helped to heft the rooms. The outside was finished with clapboards. The furniture was brought in from Montreal by boat to Belleville. The best obtainable was none too good, some was clear mahogany, some walnut and some the new veneer finish just coming into use then. Some of these pieces are still in use in Marmora. The furnaces and foundry finally fell idle and the house was used as a hotel changing hands frequently as to management, but in the early 1850's it was owned by Mrs. Margaret Brady. A large frame addition had been built by some owner with two large rooms, the entrance to them being from Forsythe Street. Along the South Side of the lot ran extensive sheds and barns. Much of the business was with lumberman, teamsters and loggers. Oxen and horses were the only means of transportation, and there were three or four hotels in Marmora to accommodate the men travelling to the woods for Gilmour or Rathbun Companies or other firms.
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About 1851, George W. Bleecker came to the village with a couple of wagonloads of goods to start a store. This was in a stone building on Main Street on the corner where the down hill road leads to the dam. By 1856 he was the owner of the property where Mr. Sanderson has lived for many years. This place was sold to Mrs. Brady and bought from her also was the old company house and the land around it. He married Sarah Johns and they kept the hotel there until about 1869. Obtaining a chance to rent the business, he built a home nearer the corner, building first the long kitchen part so that they could move into it and vacate the hotel, then adding the brick front later. He started another store on the east side of Forsythe Street, and then built the brick store on the west side which he occupied until his death in 1895. The old company house, hotel business lapsing, was used by tenants and at times by small industries as shoe making and harness making. There were often several tenants. When C' .lS. Bleeker married in 1886, his father (G.W.) wanted him to re; -vate the old house and live there, but he preferred to build his home away from the business part of the village and bought land for this purpose from Mr. George Loucks. In 1887 George B. Bleecker married and his father made him the same offer. He accepted. The old frame part was torn down, a new cellar dug and the house was moved nearer Forsyth Street by at least forty feet. The outside was bricked up, bay windows were cut from the new foundations to the roof. The entrance was from Forsyth Street. The whole inside of the place was changed, new windows, new floors, new partitions and stairs and wood work made it practically a new house. George Bleecker died in 1903 and his wife, with her mother and two sons kept their home until her death in 1909. Then Dr. Mackenzie rented it for his office and home, changing it to its present plan - waiting room and office. When Dr. Crawford came to Marmora in 1912 he bought the home from the owner George W. Bleecker, the son of G. B. Bleecker. For thirty-five years Dr. Crawford carried on his great service to the people of Marmora, and the "manager's" house still stands. In 1947 Dr. Crawford retired, and Dr. William Donevan, who married a high school teacher from Norwood, took over the practise and purchased the house from Dr. Crawford. In 1950, Dr. Herbert G. Parkin from Brooklin and Norwood purchased the house and began to carry on his practise. At this time all fireplaces had been removed and during the next five years much remodelling was done. Most apparent was the making of a side entrance on the north of the house for use of patients, and the two rooms that had been in use were made into five - waiting, consultation, examination, dispensary and two-piece washroom. An X-ray machine was installed which greatly contributed to the
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community. The south side was all put into glass and a two-car garage built to the west. A fireplace was put in the living room where the woodwork was all replaced, and a modern kitchen was built. It was at this time that Bethlehem Steel from Pennsylvania U.S.A. opened an iron mine on the southeast side ofthe village.
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