Parker, Pennsylvania

Parker, Pennsylvania
The Old Lawrenceburg section of Parker
The Old Lawrenceburg section of Parker
Nickname: 
Smallest City in the U.S.A.
Location of Parker in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.
Location of Parker in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.
Location in the state of Pennsylvania
Location in the state of Pennsylvania
Coordinates: 41°5′39″N 79°40′58″W / 41.09417°N 79.68278°W / 41.09417; -79.68278
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania
CountyArmstrong County
Settled1797
Incorporated1873
Government
 • MayorWilliam R. McCall Jr.
Area
 • Total0.96 sq mi (2.48 km2)
 • Land0.96 sq mi (2.48 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Population
 • Total695
 • Density726.99/sq mi (280.58/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
16049[3]
Area code724
FIPS code42-57976
Websitewww.visitparker.us/index.html

Parker is a city located in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the extreme northwestern portion of the county. The population was 695 at the 2020 census.[4] The city was named for Judge John Parker, a lead surveyor of Lawrenceburg and founder/owner of Parker's Landing, the two villages combined to create Parker.

Parker is sometimes referred to as the "Smallest City in the USA". Parker was incorporated as a city on March 1, 1873, by special state legislation in the midst of the northwestern Pennsylvania oil boom. The new municipality was called "Parker" and made up the earlier villages of Parker's Landing (on the Allegheny River) and Lawrenceburg (on the bluff above the river). Residents assumed that Parker would quickly become a major population center, and at the height of the oil boom, the population of Parker grew to over 20,000. The boom quickly went bust, however, and by the 1880s the "city" returned to its historic small village size—a population of approximately 1,000.

Parker received national attention again in 2014 when a massive ice jam along the Allegheny River formed and started some minor flooding. The jam was so massive that it attracted tourists to the area, and a local bar even named a drink after the ice jam. The ice jam was severe enough that the National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the area in case the ice started melting.[5][6]

  1. ^ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Parker PA ZIP Code". zipdatamaps.com. 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  4. ^ "Explore Census Data".
  5. ^ "Ice jam on Allegheny River prompts flood warning (PICTURES &... | www.wpxi.com". www.wpxi.com. Archived from the original on March 2, 2014.
  6. ^ "Armstrong Co. Ice Jam Continues to Draw Spectators". February 24, 2014.