Parrish is named after one of its first settlers, Crawford Parrish (1811–1899) who came to Manatee County in 1869. He then purchased land at Oak Hill from Major William Turner, on which Parrish farmed food crops as well as tobacco, citrus, cattle and hogs. He also homesteaded many acres and in 1885 was awarded a 40-acre land grant signed by President Grover Cleveland. He as his wife, Mary, had eight children many of whose descendants still call Parrish home.

Crawford and Mary Parrish are buried at Fortner Cemetery. Crawford and Mary Parrish’s son John Parrish (1857–1918) was influential in the early years of Parrish. Like many of his neighbors. Parrish made much of his income from citrus, which had to be hauled by mule and wagon to waiting boats in Bradenton. Parrish knew that a railroad stop at Oak Hill ( as Parrish was then known) was crucial to the towns development. He thus  convinced railroad and government officials to build a depot at Oak Hill and he then donated land for the depot, water tank and for miles of track.

The depot brought packing houses, grocers, doctors, druggists and other merchants to town. Parrish thrived until the Great Depression destroyed much of its commerce and farmers and ranchers were forced to leave for work in big cities. Packing houses and grocers closed down and it  would take decades for many families to recover. But the Parrish name lives on, as dozens of descendants of Crawford Parrish still call the area home and are active in local government, churches, rural health and civic associations.

Parrish (from historical marker in front of old school house located on US301 in middle of village) The first documented settlers in present-day Parrish in early part of 1850 were William B Hooker and William H Johnson. Here they found the ideal climate, fertile soil and a nearby river, all suitable for establishing a plantation for their ill-fated joint venture of growing sea island cotton. After the partnership was dissolved, Major William Iredell Turner acquired Hooker’s plantation in 1867 and named it "Oak Hill". Among the other earlier settlers were Crawford and Mary Bratcher (Vanzandt) Parrish. When the post office opened, the name was changed to "Parrish". The railroad provided mail and travel service by 1902 Parrish became a thriving community depending upon a citrus, cattle and agriculture economy.

There's a grove here over 100 years old that is still bearing. Area had three packing houses, three or more churches, two boarding houses, blacksmith shop and many stores. At turn of century, the Methodist Church served as a school.  The first schoolhouse was built on land given by Crawford Parrish. It was removed and replaced with the present building in 1924.

Judah P Benjamin, Confederate Secretary of State, in his 1865 escape from Richmond at the end of the Civil War, was secretly  hidden in a swamp behind Major Turner's house for several days before he was transported to Gamble Mansion where he remained for some time.

In today's world Parrish ahs probably changed little from it's early history, still a small village, life goes on around it with little influence to the daily lives of it's citizens, little has changed here and most people lead a realative simplistic lifestyle enjoying the Florida sunshine with little care about the outside world.

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