Parkerfield was incorporated as a city of the third class on March 16, 2004, and elections for mayor and city council were held March 30. The decision to incorporate the city grew out of a protest by area residents of neighboring Arkansas City's plan to annex the area. They believed the city codes to be too restrictive and the taxes too high. The residents hired an attorney to fight the annexation. The petition for incorporation was filed with the Cowley County Clerk on January 20, 2004, and was approved by the Board of County Commissioners on March 9.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
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 Wikimedia Commons (3) and Wikipedia. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.