Parrish

Town of Parrish
Incorporated	1921
Population	1,268
Mayor	Cedrick Ramsey
School district	Walker County Schools
Government	Parrish Town Council Parrish Fire Department Parrish Police Department
Web site	townofparrish.org
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Parrish is the sixth-largest town in Walker County.

The community, originally called Hewitt, was granted a post office in 1878. It took its current name from the telegraph station established about 1890 by the Sheffield, Birmingham, and Tennessee Railroad, whose operator was a man named Parrish. The Town of Parrish was incorporated on January 1, 1921 and, at the 2000 census, had a population of 1,268.

A long-track EF3 tornado struck here on April 24, 2010. The rotation later crossed into Cordova, and Empire, a town northeast of Sumiton on Highway 78. It expired after reaching Interstate 65 near Highway 160 southwest of Hayden.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.1 square miles, all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,268 people, 506 households, and 358 families residing in the town. The population density was 605.2 people per square mile (233.1/km²). There were 587 housing units at an average density of 280.2 per square mile (107.9/km²). The racial makeup of Parrish is 72.63% White, 25.32% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.63% from other races, and 1.10% from two or more races. 0.95% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 506 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were married couples living together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the town the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $21,711, and the median income for a family was $26,193. Males had a median income of $25,341 versus $16,900 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,270. About 21.3% of families and 24.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.0% of those under age 18 and 26.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Parrish Elementary and Parrish High School, members of the Walker County Board of Education, are located in Parrish. The school mascot is the Tornadoes. In 2003 the Parrish High School football team won the Alabama High School Athletics Association Class 1A State Championship.