Jefferson County Historical Society submitted the following article on the Parker Blood building:
[PHOTO: Parker P. Blood built his building t0 the west of the Jefferson County History Center (pictured here as Means & Lauf) the same year-1875. It functioned as many retail spaces until the Area Agency on Aging, Penn State Extension, and the district magistrate moved in. (Photograph courtesy of the JCHS)]
Submitted by Carole Briggs
PARKER BLOOD & HIS BUILDING
We all drive past it several times a week and maybe, on occasion, even stop in at the district magistrate’s office in the Parker P. Blood Building east of the courthouse. But do we ever stop to ask ourselves, “Who was this fellow named Parker P. Blood?”
Names are like that. We are familiar with the name itself, but not the person who carried it.
Cyrus Blood, Parker’s father, helped survey the county around 1804. The county at that time included much of what are today Forest and Elk counties. then in 1833 he bought 6,000 acres and brought his family from Hagerstown, MD, to what is now Forest County to establish the “Blood Settlement.” His brother, also named Parker, was waiting in Maryland with a group of potential settlers, but when Cyrus’ got the news that Parker had died of cholera, plans were abandoned.
In 1852 Cyrus’ son named Parker P. joined the corps of engineers who were surveying for the Foxburg Narrow Guage Road, then taught school in Clarion County, before moving to Brookville to work with his brother, Kennedy, who had in 1850 established a drug store with Dr. Cummins.
The Blood brothers were Democrats and active in both politic and business. Kennedy was appointed postmaster, elected deputy sheriff, and served in the Pennsylvania Senate. Parker followed in his brother’s footsteps as postmaster, was elected county treasurer, then bought Dr. Cummins’ share and went into business with Kennedy as drug store owners, eventually operating the business by himself.
In 1875, Parker P. Blood built the large three-story building that has his name on the front, the one many of us pass each day.
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