(La Paz County)

The Town of Parker is located within the northern
corner of the Colorado River Indian Tribe reservation
on a mesa overlooking the Colorado River at an elevation
of approximately 450 feet above sea level. The Town of Parker
is within the Sonora Desert located near river bottomland
and rugged low desert mountains. The Gibraltar Mountains
lie east of the community while the Whipple and Riverside
Mountains lie to the north and southwest respectively.

The original town site of Parker was surveyed and laid out
in 1909 by a railroad location engineer by the name of Earl.
H. Parker. However, the Town’s name and origin began when a
post office was established January 6, 1871, on the Colorado
River Indian reservation to serve the Indian agency. The post
office was named Parker in honor of General Eli Parker who was
Commissioner of Indian Affairs when the Colorado River Indian
reservation was established by Congress in 1865.

The Town of Parker officially incorporated as a town in 1948.
In 1980, Parker annexed 13,000 acres of non-contiguous land
ten miles to the southeast known as Parker South. In May 1982,
by initiative petition, voters formed La Paz County from the
northern portion of Yuma County. On January 1, 1983, Parker
became the county seat for La Paz County