The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The town was settled in 1890 when the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad was built through the area to provide transportation from nearby lumber mills. It was named for local lumber mill owner E. A. Parmele. Following the construction of the Albemarle and Raleigh Railroad the population rapidly grew, and the community was incorporated as a town in 1893 by the North Carolina General Assembly. A fire burned through much of the town on April 1, 1904, destroying many businesses and leading to the decline of nearby lumber mills. In 1909, William C. Chance founded the Higgs Industrial School for African Americans (also known as the Parmele Industrial Institute) which at its peak occupied a six-building campus and merged with the town's public school. The school was closed following a fire at its main building in 1954.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Start Parmele’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Parmele’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Parmele
See all 2 →Parmele, decade by decade
2000
Nothing in Parmele is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Parmele has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Roberson-Everett-Roebuck House in Robersonville, 3.2 miles away.
Parmele and the nearest listed places
Closest to Parmele
Roberson-Everett-Roebuck HouseRobersonville · Building3.2mi
Robersonville Primitive Baptist ChurchRobersonville · Front-gable Church with Tower3.2miW. J. Little HouseRobersonville · Building3.4mi
First Christian ChurchRobersonville · Romanesque Revival3.5miWorsley-Burnette HouseConetoe · Built 18507.5miHow a place gets listed
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.