Map of Parksley town

Parksley is a town in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. The population was 842 at the 2010 census. It is home to the Eastern Shore Railway Museum.

Parksley town overview:
Name:	Parksley town
LSAD Code:	43
LSAD Description:	town (suffix)
State:	Virginia
County:	Accomack County
Elevation:	43 ft (13 m)
Total Area:	0.62 sq mi (1.60 km²)
Land Area:	0.62 sq mi (1.60 km²)
Water Area:	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km²)
Total Population:	842
Population Density:	1,311.69/sq mi (506.15/km²)
ZIP code:	23421
Area code:	757, 948 (planned)
FIPS code:	5160680
GNISfeature ID:	1497072

Online Interactive Map

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Parksley online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Parksley location map. Where is Parksley town?

Parksley location on the U.S. Map. Where is Parksley town. — Parksley location on the U.S. Map.

Parksley location on the Virginia map. Where is Parksley town. — Location of Parksley in Virginia.

History

The history of Parksley is directly tied to the arrival of the New York, Philadelphia, and Norfolk [NYP&N] Railroad on Virginia’s Eastern Shore in the mid-1880s. When the rail line connecting the lower Delmarva Peninsula to the markets of the northeast was built in 1884, several new towns were created along its route which bypassed many of the shore’s older established communities. Parksley was the second such planned town on the Virginia shore (after Cape Charles at the railroad’s southern terminus in Northampton County) and was laid out in 1885 under the management of the Parksley Land Improvement Company. In 1898, town leaders made an unsuccessful attempt to relocate the county seat from Accomac to the Parksley. The town was incorporated in 1904. During the first half of the 20th century, Parksley became an important shipping point for seafood and agricultural products harvested from the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean in Accomack County. During World War II, Parksley was the site of the Shore National Guard Armory and its airfield was utilized by the Civil Air Patrol, part of military reconnaissance activities guarding the east coast of the United States against possible German invasion. Parksley was home to the Parksley Spuds, a team which played in the Eastern Shore Baseball League.

As of 2021, Parksley has had most of its historic train tracks removed. The removal was approved by the company Canonie Atlantic Co., despite the protests of some locals and New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad. The removal was approved; the only remaining train tracks in Parksley are associated with the Eastern Shore Railway Museum.