Pioneer Village and Parmley House Open House

Pioneer Village and the Parmley House will be welcoming guests on Sunday, August 18 with a special Open House presentation of exhibits.

All of the exhibits are free to the public. After touring these historical sites, join them for fellowship and ice cream on the porch of the Parmley House. They will be serving from 1 until 4 p.m.

PIONEER VILLAGE

The Ipswich Flower and Garden Club will be escorting visitors through the beautifully appointed historical buildings that they have rescued, restored and gathered into one spot in Ipswich. The Pioneer Village is east of the Ipswich Swimming Pool.

The Village gives a good feel for the way our pioneers lived and worked from the 1880’s through the early 1900’s. The tour guides share their knowledge of the history of the area while they escort each group. For many, the furnishings in the buildings bring back memories of how we or our parents lived. The younger generations can see first hand some of the challenges that were overcome when living without electricity, running water, indoor plumbing and furnaces for winter warmth.

PARMLEY HOUSE

The Parmley House on Highway 45 in Ipswich presents a different view of time. It is a more “modern” house, built in the 1920’s with electrical lights and indoor plumbing, but while you are there notice that the walls, floors and ceilings are all constructed of concrete, for strength and durability. This is a very unique feature of the Parmley House.

A number of items once used in the home by the J.W. Parmley family are on exhibit, and many other items from the community and county are also on display. Some of the exhibits were originally assembled in the 1930’s when the first Edmunds County Museum was opened in the basement of the old courthouse.

The Parmley Land Office is located on Main Street in Ipswich and presents a collection of items representing different area businesses. The Land Office was built in 1900, using field rocks, as a place of business for Mr. Parmley’s Abstract Company. It was also the early home of the Ipswich Tribune newspaper.

Adjacent to the Parmley Land Office is the Edmunds County Memorial Park honoring the military veterans and early pioneers of the area in a brick walk way. Additional engraved bricks can be placed in the walkway for individuals, families, school classes or any other similar purpose. Applications for the engraved bricks are available at the Parmley House or Land Office.

J.W. Parmley was one of the early pioneers in Edmunds County and he worked with many other local people to encourage more settlers to come to this area. His development of the Yellowstone Trail, now Highway 12, was aimed to encourage travellers with those ‘new-fangled’ cars to visit, and then to settle down and stay.

“We are hoping to get more people involved in the great history of our small town to help pass this down to future generations before it is all lost in the past,” museum board member Tom Hammrich said. The local museums are always looking for more volunteers to help show off and be a part of preserving these pieces of Ipswich history.