Location: 2740 Bolingbroke Road, Bolingbroke Hamlet
Legal Description: Lot 6, Concession 3, South Sherbrooke Ward.
This Bolingbroke home and outbuilding are recognized for their affiliation with two of the hamlet’s known families, the Korrys (Corry) and Ritchies. The home is the probable location of Bolingbroke's first post office, and the outbuilding an early blacksmith shop.
The property, deeded in 1821 to Dr. Alexander Thom, of the Perth Military Settlement and builder of the first mills and dam on the adjacent Tay River, was purchased in 1848 by John Korry. Today, over 150 years later, ownership remains in the Korry/Ritchie family.
Available research indicates that the home, of log construction, could have been the hamlet post office. All four postmasters listed for Bolingbroke were also the property owners, beginning with John Korry (1865–90), through his son, George (1890–92), and three-times great-granddaughter Margaret Dowdall (1892–1912) and her husband John N. Ritchie (1912–30).
The outbuilding was a former blacksmith shop, although not confirmed as the original hamlet smithy. The home has been beautifully restored.