Colonel Parker & His Home

High above the town of Pendleton rises a prominent ridge long known locally as Parker Hill. From its crest the land slopes gently toward Fall Creek and the early settlement that grew along its banks. For generations the hill has stood as one of Pendleton’s most recognizable landmarks, a quiet sentinel overlooking the community’s growth from frontier village to thriving town.

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George W. Parker was born May 10, 1827, in Cane Ridge, Bourbon County, Kentucky, the youngest of twelve children born to John and Sarah (Sandusky) Parker. When he was three years old, the family moved to West Jefferson, Ohio. Ten years later, following the death of his father, they settled in Irvington.

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As a young man Parker worked as a farmer until his marriage to Margaret Clark on April 4, 1854. For several years the couple lived in Brookston, Indiana, where Parker served as a railroad station agent.

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In August 1862 Parker enlisted in Indianapolis in Company G of the 79th Indiana Infantry Regiment. During the Civil War he rose steadily through the ranks. Commissioned in August 1862, he was promoted to Major on October 14, 1863, and later advanced to Lieutenant Colonel before mustering out with the regiment on August 25, 1864. The 79th Indiana saw heavy action throughout the western theater, fighting at Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, Resaca, Jonesboro, and Peachtree Creek, as well as during the sieges of Chattanooga and Atlanta. Parker himself was wounded at both Chickamauga and Peachtree Creek.

 

After the war Parker became a prominent public figure in Indiana. He served as Sheriff of Marion County from December 9, 1866, to December 9, 1870, and later worked as superintendent of the Indiana Soldiers and Sailors Monument project in Indianapolis. A farmer, mill owner, and active Republican, Parker eventually made his home in Pendleton.

 

Several decades after the war, Colonel Parker selected the commanding height of Parker Hill as the site of his residence. There he built a substantial home set upon a limestone foundation that looked out across the growing town. Behind the carriage house lay a deeply personal memorial—the grave of Parker’s faithful war horse, the animal that had carried him through the smoke and chaos of battle. When the horse died in 1885, Parker ordered it buried near the home, a tribute to loyalty forged on the battlefield.

 

Colonel Parker lived on the hill until his death in 1918. The property later passed to Hortense and Morris Kinnard before entering a long period as rental property and gradual decline. For decades the once-grand home stood quiet on the hill, weathered but watchful.

 

In 1987 Dick and Sandi Butler carefully restored the long-vacant residence, returning it to its former grandeur while preserving its architectural character and historical significance. Recently the Butler family transferred ownership to a new steward who has pledged to maintain the charm, history, and integrity of this treasured Pendleton landmark.

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