Parker

History

Founded in 1908, the town was named after Ely Parker, the first Native American commissioner for the U.S. government. The original town site of Parker was surveyed and laid out in 1909 by Earl H. Parker, a railroad location engineer for the Arizona & California Railway. The town officially incorporated in 1948 and became the county seat for the newly created La Paz County on January 1, 1983. The town's name and origin began when a post office called Parker was established January 6, 1871, at Parker's Landing and the site of the Parker Indian Agency, named for Ely Parker, on the Colorado River Indian Reservation, four miles downriver from the site of the railroad bridge of the modern town, to serve the Indian agency. What became Parkers Landing was established on the river as the place to land and pick up cargo and personnel for the Indian Agency and the U. S. Army detachment that was stationed there at Camp Colorado from 1864 to 1869, during the first years of the Reservation. Camp Colorado was abandoned after sparks from the departing steamboat Cocopah rapidly burned down the brush huts of the officers of the garrison, and endangered its barracks and storehouses.

Geography

The city is on the Colorado River just south of the Headgate Rock Dam and Moovalya Lake. Arizona State Route 95 and California State Route 62 (across the Colorado River) serve the city. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and 0.05% is water. According to Census Bureau maps, the town is divided into two non-contiguous sections; the northern section consists of the original town and is located in the Colorado River Indian reservation and the southern section consists of a larger, roughly rectangular section of largely undeveloped territory. The undeveloped territory consist of extensive unpaved roads. Of the few that are paved, Mohave Road is the most utilized between the town and the territory. The same road can be taken 15.5 miles south to the town of Poston, which is noted for its relocation camps for Japanese Americans during World War II.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Great-tailed Grackle

  Quiscalus mexicanus (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  215
• Gambel's Quail

  Callipepla gambelii (Gambel, 1843) · Aves
  190
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  178
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  173
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  155
• White-crowned Sparrow

  Zonotrichia leucophrys (J.R.Forster, 1772) · Aves
  155
• Abert's Towhee

  Melozone aberti (S.F.Baird, 1852) · Aves
  150
• White-winged Dove

  Zenaida asiatica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  145

Largest nearby schools

• Parker High School
  High · PARKER · 507 students · 18.1:1 ratio
• Blake Primary School
  Elementary · PARKER · 354 students · 15.4:1 ratio
• Wallace Elementary School
  Elementary · PARKER · 313 students · 15.7:1 ratio
• Wallace Jr High School
  Middle · PARKER · 303 students · 13.8:1 ratio
• Parker Alternative School
  High · PARKER · 39 students
• WAVE - Parker High School
  High · PARKER
• WAVE-Arizona Western College
  High · PARKER

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2025-08-03
  39 km SSW of Bagdad, Arizona
• M 2.9 — 2015-03-02
  19 km E of Yucca, Arizona
• M 2.5 — 2011-07-26
  30km SSE of Essex, CA
• M 2.63 — 2008-07-24
  38km E of Parker, AZ
• M 2.9 — 2008-01-17
  17 km E of Yucca, Arizona