The first settler of Conyngham was George Drum (in the late 1700s) who served in the
American Revolution and was elected justice of the peace in 1811. George Drum was an entrepreneurial businessman and was a large landowner who also owned the Drums Hotel, a shoe shop, tavern, and the Drums Post Office. He and his family developed the adjacent village of
Drums, of which the village is named after the family, along with helping the development of Conyngham. Drums is a sister village to Conyngham. The George Drum residence remains standing in impeccable condition on Conyngham's Main Street. The
Sugarloaf Massacre of September 11, 1780, was one of a series of bloody engagements fought in the frontier of northeastern Pennsylvania between
Iroquois (allies of British troops) and settlers loyal to the cause of American independence. Today, this event is commemorated by a historic monument with a bronze plaque bearing the names of the fifteen men who lost their lives near modern-day Conyngham. In 1815, Redmond Conyngham represented Luzerne County in the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives. In 1820, he served a term in the
State Senate. Captain
Gustavus Conyngham was his cousin. He was an unsung hero of the
Revolution. He commanded a privateer and was the first to carry the American flag in the
English Channel. The townspeople suggested naming the village after Redmond Conyngham, but he replied that the town should be named in honor of his cousin, Gustavus, who frequently made trips to England to obtain military supplies for revolutionary colonists. In the 1800s, the
Lehigh-Susquehanna Turnpike traveled through the middle of modern-day Main Street in Conyngham.
PA 93 was later constructed as another route through the town. It was not until 1921 when Conyngham became a borough. ==Geography==