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History · Parrish

Parrish dates to 1922, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1949 on, and the census since 1930.

1922founded
0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
From Parrish’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Parrish began

When was Parrish founded?

1922

Parrish dates its founding to 1922 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 987 in 19302020 census: 982104 years
Founding year: Wikipedia.

What stands out about Parrish’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Parrish’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Parrish’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
People over time

Parrish, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,80019401960198020002020Peak: 1,742

Peaked at 1,742 in 1970; 982 people lived here in 2020.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Parrish’s Wikipedia page.

The story so far

Parrish, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Parrish yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Parrish is a town in Walker County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in October 1922. As of the 2020 census, Parrish had a population of 982.

Parrish was established in 1922. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 982 in 2010, 982 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Parrish, 1922 to 1970

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1922
    FoundingParrish is established
  3. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 1,742
By decade

Parrish, decade by decade

On the map

Parrish on the map, 1949 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Parrish. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Parrish on the 1949 USGS mapParrish on the 1951 USGS mapParrish on the 1981 USGS map1949Parrish sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Parrish.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

William Crawford Gorgas Electric Generating Plant, On Black Warrior River
Retake this viewWilliam Crawford Gorgas Electric Generating Plant, On Black Warrior River

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Parrish’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Parrish

Nobody well known was born in Parrish itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Standard
Gone or out of use
Bryant Creek Minemine

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Parrish’s history

What year was Parrish founded?

In 1922, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1930 counted 987 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From the Library of Congress (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.