Parnell is a city in northeast Nodaway County, Missouri, United States, near the Platte River. The population was 135 at the 2020 Census. It was home to the father-son horse trainers Ben and Jimmy Jones, whose horses won eight Kentucky Derbies and two Triple Crowns.
History
Parnell was platted on July 5, 1887 as a station stop on the Chicago Great Western Railway and it was formally incorporated in 1888. The Chicago Great Western route passing through the community was called the Diagonal Route. It ran at northeast direction from Kansas City to Waterloo, Iowa including passing through the community of Diagonal, Iowa. Among the first businesses was the Diagonal Hotel.
Ben Jones father Horace Jones organized the founding of the community and an early proposed names was Jonesville until it was discovered there was another Jonesville in Missouri. The name ultimately chosen was in honor or Irish politician Charles Stewart Parnell who was at the peak of influence in creating Irish homerule when Parnell was incorporated.
After he retiring in 1976 Jimmy returned to 1,750 acre ranch in Parnell. He sold the ranch in 1986. He had no children and died in Maryville, Missouri in 2001. He left $7.2 million to St. Francis Hospital there.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 191 people, 90 households, and 49 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 127 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.5% White and 0.5% Asian.
There were 90 households, of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.2% were married couples living together, 17.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 45.6% were non-families. 43.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.92.
The median age in the city was 32.8 years. 28.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22% were from 25 to 44; 24.1% were from 45 to 64; and 15.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 53.4% male and 46.6% female.
2000 census
As of the census