Parma was originally located a few miles east of its current location along the Michigan Central Railroad at a stop known as Gidley's Station. When it was moved to its current location, it was known as Groveland, after a noticeable grove of trees within the town. Part of this grove still exists where Grove St. curves around a copse of trees near its intersection with Westlawn St. in the eastern half of Parma. When the village was incorporated in 1847, its name was changed to Parma. In the early 1900s Parma was also known as Cracker Hill. A book titled Cracker Hill Crumbs, about the village's history, was published in 1975.
Passages that mention Parma, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Jackson County, Michigan1881 · page 586Read the page →
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was but a lad, leaving his widow with 5 children, of whom Ezra was the fourth. He remained at his place of birth until the age of 17, going to school in the country and in Batavia. He came to Michigan in 1848, stopped at the old station east of Parma, where he spent the winter clerking in a country store. In the summer of 1849 lie engaged in a store in Parma, where he remained until the spring of 1S52, when he crossed the plains to California, where he mined for gold four years, but to little purpose, and he returned
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History of Jackson County, Michigan1881 · page 1007Read the page →
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The township of Parma was comprehended originally in the district known as Spring Arbor, which included what are now designated as the townships of Pulaski, Hanover, Concord, Spring Arbor, Parma, Sandstone, Springport, and Tompkins.
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DELAND'S HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY,MICHIGAN1903 · page 429Read the page →
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The township of Parma was comprehendeil originally in the district known as Spring Arbor, which included what are now designated as the townships of Pulaski, Hanover, Concord, Spring Arbor, Parma, Sandstone, Springport and Tompkins.
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DELAND'S HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY,MICHIGAN1903 · page 434Read the page →
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This church is still in existence. The village of Parma is partly in Sandstone and there is a mill and postoffice at the north line called Minard Mills.
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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 →
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2014