Web Design in Parma, MI

About Parma, Jackson County

Parma is a village in Jackson County, Michigan, divided into three sections with boundaries in both Parma Township and Sandstone Charter Township. It sits on Old US 12 west of the city of Jackson and east of Albion, with two Interstate 94 exits serving it. The 2020 census counted 780 residents, up slightly from 769 in 2010 and down from 907 in 2000. It is a farm-country village with one elementary school and an automotive parts plant built in 1989.

History of Parma

• 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.
• The village was incorporated in 1847, and its name was changed to Parma at that incorporation. The village's own website repeats both the Groveland origin and the 1847 date.

Landmarks and Places in Parma

• Groner Park holds a playground whose elaborate "History of Parma" section was built in 1999 and commemorates the 1923 trolley derailment.
• The William G. Brown House at 6770 Brown Road was designated a Michigan State Historic Site on November 16, 1982. The state list gives its location as "Parma vicinity", which places it outside the village limits rather than inside them.
• The National Register of Historic Places list for Jackson County holds 29 listings and the Michigan State Historic Sites list for Jackson County holds 47 entries. No National Register listing is in Parma or Parma Township. The nearest is the M-50-Sandstone Creek Bridge, carrying M-50 over Sandstone Creek in Sandstone Township, listed January 14, 2000.

The Parma Economy

• Parma is historically and traditionally an agricultural community.
• In 1989 Michigan Automotive Compressors, Inc. (MACI), an automotive parts plant owned jointly by the two Japanese parent companies Toyota Motor Corporation and Denso, was built. It specializes in automotive air conditioning compressors.
• Old US 12 runs through the village and two Interstate 94 exits serve it, which is the corridor carrying most traffic through Parma today.

Community Life in Parma

• Parma is in the Western School District. Parma Elementary School is on the village's south side and older students attend Western High School. The village's own site states the village is "located in Western School District".
• Robert E. Horton, the ecologist and soil scientist, and Brian Tyler, the NASCAR driver, are both listed as being from Parma.

Local reference: en.wikipedia.org, en.wikipedia.org, www.villageofparma.org