The Parma Area Historical Society is spearheading a series of events to commemorate Parma’s upcoming 2026 bicentennial. The celebrations will showcase the city’s rich history and involve various activities designed to engage residents and visitors alike.
Exciting Plans for the Bicentennial Celebration
Patricia Nickols, the society’s historian and curator, expressed her enthusiasm for the festivities. “I’m really excited because there’s some really great history that we get to teach people about — things that probably they don’t know,” she stated. The society plans to host several activities at the Stearns Homestead, which will welcome guests during its open months. Notably, the programming aligns with the national America250 celebration, marking 250 years since the United States’ founding.
Among the planned events is a guided tour of the Parma Heights Cemetery on June 5, 2026. This site has historical significance as Parma Heights was part of Parma until 1911. Nickols pointed out that early settlers chose to establish their homes along Pearl Road, a vital stagecoach route, due to its heavy traffic.
The bicentennial festivities will also feature a variety of programs, including a movie night celebrating Ohio actors, a Fourth of July picnic, and a lantern tour at Stearns Homestead. Additionally, the society plans to offer workshops focused on preserving family heirlooms and exploring personal family histories.
A Glimpse into Parma’s Past
Parma’s first settlers, including Benajah and Ruth Fay, arrived in the area in 1816. The Fays traveled from Lewis County, New York, with their ten children, navigating the lakeshore with an ox-drawn cart. Upon settling in Parma, Benajah became a merchant and took on various roles, including architect, engineer, and innkeeper. He built a double log cabin that served as B. Fay’s Inn, catering to stagecoach travelers on their route from Cleveland to Cincinnati.
“The Fays were the first settlers, who were overall just a lot of very enterprising people,” Nickols remarked, highlighting that many early inhabitants arrived prepared to construct businesses and infrastructure. This spirit of determination continued through the years, with subsequent immigrant populations, including Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, and Hungarian communities, also coming to Parma to start anew.
Nickols emphasized that the resilience of Parma’s early settlers is evident in the city’s historical narrative. She noted that the transformation of Parma into the seventh-largest city in Ohio primarily occurred post-World War II, driven by a housing and population boom.
Despite its growth and development, the land where the Parma Area Historical Society operates remains largely unchanged. The Stearns Homestead is notable for being the last working farm in the city, featuring a Yankee-style barn built in 1850 and two historic houses, the Stearns House and the Gibbs House, constructed in the same era and in 1920, respectively.
“I don’t think people realize looking at Parma now that it was completely farmland and all agriculture,” Nickols commented, emphasizing the stark contrast between the city’s current landscape and its agricultural roots. She enjoys giving tours of the 1920s house, particularly showcasing a vintage 1940s radio that astonishes children with its size and design.
Nickols encourages residents to engage with the upcoming bicentennial celebrations by visiting Stearns Homestead. “People can stop in, learn a little history and look at how life used to be,” she said. “It’s a good place to spend the day.”
