Jackie Snow Pop will speak on the history of McKey, west of Sallisaw, at a meeting of the Sequoyah County Historical Society at 2 p.m. Sunday at the society’s museum at 200 E. Creek in Sallisaw.

The public is invited to attend and refreshments will be served after the meeting.

Pop said information in the Sequoyah County History about McKey, written by Dale and Ora Lee Kirk, indicate that the creek, the stagecoach road and later, the advent of the railroad through an area about five miles west and two miles north of Sallisaw were factors in the development of McKey into a thriving and prosperous community of the Cherokee Nation in the 1880s.

How McKey was named has at least two credible versions. One version reported in George Shirk’s Book “Oklahoma Place Names” that McKey was named for the Mackey family and especially for Lugie Mackey. Miss Mackey was the daughter of Samuel Mackey who operated the salt works north of Gore from 1829 until his death in 1839. Lugie married Charlie Starr and lived just across Sallisaw Creek east of McKey.

Another version explains that the community of McKey was named for the section crew foreman (boss) who was named McKey and the community became known by the same name.

For more on the McKey community, attend the meeting at the society’s museum Sunday.