1864 - Son of William and Susan (Silver), Edwin Knight McConkey was born December 11, 1864 in Wrightsville, PA. He went to public school and then attended York Collegiate Institute, which later became York College.
1890 - McConkey Insurance & Benefits has a significant history that dates back to its inception in 1890. McConkey, an employee of the Farmers Fire Insurance Company, started the agency
to have a local outlet to sell policies for his insurance company. In addition to being employed by the insurance company and running his agency, he also served the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a state senator. It's also interesting to note that he was the first Yorker to drive an automobile. McConkey died in 1910.
1925 - Upon Mr. McConkey's death, his wife sold the agency for $1.00 to a family member. The agency remained a small family agency for many years.
1950s - Jack Barnhart became employed by the agency. When he took over, the agency had just four employees. Barnhart began to grow the agency, concentrating on commercial insurance. He targeted York's largest and best run businesses as customers. As the agency grew, he added Thomas Hamm as a partner in the late 1960s and Maurice Bobst in the early 1970s. They contributed greatly to making the agency one of the finest in Central Pennsylvania.
1980s - Over the years described above, the agency was located at 53 East Market Street in downtown York on the second floor of the Farmers Fire Insurance Company. In 1986 McConkey was incorporated as E.K. McConkey & Co., Inc. with Barnhart, Hamm, Bobst and Henry J. Christ, III as shareholders. In 1987, success dictated that the agency move in order to operate more efficiently and to accommodate further growth. The agency doubled its square footage by moving to a location at 497 Hill Street in Spring Garden Township.
1990s - The agency continued to grow at a rapid pace through organic growth and by acquisition. In the late 1990s, the agency merged with Yorkwright Insurance, Inc. This merger gave the agency additional personal automobile and homeowner's volume to allow the agency to compete favorably for these lines of coverage.
2001 - The agency merged with NL Associates, one of the leading life and benefits agencies in York. This merger nearly tripled the size of the benefits department. This merger, coupled with property/casualty growth, forced McConkey to again look for more space. As a result, McConkey moved to its current location in October 2001. Today the McConkey team is more than 100 employees strong. The McConkey model has never changed...offer an unmatched service platform to the existing client base, grow by acquiring new clients, work as a team, closely manage expenses and actively contribute to our wonderful community.
