A Brief History of Parker
Parker grew around a stage-road stopping place known as the 20 Mile House, named for its distance south of Denver. Its origins lie in Alfred Butters’s Pine Grove refuge for travelers, established around 1862 and moved by the Long family in 1864. James Sample Parker purchased the expanded way station in 1874, adding services and supporting a school across the road. Railroad traffic encouraged shops, dairying and livestock businesses. The settlement remained unincorporated for decades: when Parker incorporated in 1981, its roughly one-square-mile boundary included 285 residents.