Parthia

The hamlet of Parthia is located in Cochrane District along Highway 11 north of Kapuskasing between Opasatika and Mattice.

It began around 1925 when W.J. Campbell opened his post office in November of the same year. The post office went by the name of Macbey however it ended up closing after only 29 days of service. The hamlet became known as Macbey Station named after the station and siding which had sprung up. The name of Macbey was retained until 1932 when the area was renamed to Parthia.

By this time a few citizens had made the area their home and close to a dozen farms occupied the area. The majority of the citizens were French Canadians who had come over from the province of Quebec.

A French Separate School began in 1925 with classes being conducted out of the home of the teacher, Rosario Nobel. A more proper school house would be completed by 1927.

The post office which had initially closed in 1925 was reopened in 1929 and operated from the home of Alphonse Guillemette.

Parthia saw minor growth over the next few years with close to two dozen farmsteads in use. The growth spurt was minor and by the 1940’s the small town began to see a decline in residents.

The post office closed in 1951, the school closed the following year. There were less than a dozen abandoned homes to be found by the 1970’s. Today you will find only cellar holes in the field that was once Parthia.