James Norris Parker came to the shores of Lake Worth in 1886 from Ohio, where he was born in 1850. He homesteaded a tract of land running one-half mile west of Parker Avenue (named for him) and one-quarter mile east. His property was bounded on the north by Bunker Road and on the south by Palmetto. Parker was a successful farmer, raising potatoes, beans and other vegetables. He also planted seven acres of pineapples. He took his produce to market every Friday in the first horse and wagon on the west side of the lake. With no roads, it was not an easy task to get through the deep sand. On Market Day, the farmers gathered on First Street (Banyan Street) not only to sell their produce but to learn world and county news and to socialize with each other.
Annie E. Lafferty, from Cleveland, Ohio, had come to the lakeshore in 1894 with the Charles W. Bingham family. She returned every winter and, in 1900, married James Norris Parker. They had one son, Philip Curry Parker.
James died 30 April 1920 and is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, West Palm Beach. Annie lived on in their old home on Parker Avenue, with her son, until her death on 24 May 1938. She is buried beside James.
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