Parnell is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Grattan Township, Kent County,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, United States. Its latitude is 43.043 and its longitude is -85.411.

History

The area in which it is currently located was once the home of the

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

people. After the 1836 Treaty of Washington opened up the land for European settlement, the former inhabitants were quickly replaced by Europeans. In the late 1830s and '40s, Irish immigrants settled the area, which had the advantages of prime farmland and a location reasonably close to a metropolitan center,

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

. By 1844, it is estimated that 20-30 Irish families were settled in the area now known as Parnell. That year, the community came together to worship with a priest sent from Grand Rapids, most frequently in the home of Michael Farrell. By the end of the year, planning for St. Patrick's Catholic Church had begun. The current structure, dating from 1878, is located across the street from the original church. The steeple of the church was renovated in 2005. Saint Patrick School in Parnell was founded by Catholic priest James Crumley in 1893, and moved into its current building in 1963. The school serves children from preschool through 8th grade. Parnell is also the home of a monastery of

Discalced Carmelite nuns A discalced (/dɪsˈkælst/, ''dis-KALST'') religious order is one whose members go barefoot or wear sandals. These orders are often distinguished on this account from other branches of the same order. The custom of going unshod was introduced int ...

, founded in 1916.

Education

Lowell Area Schools Lowell Area Schools (LAS) is a school district serving Lowell, Michigan. In addition to Lowell itself, the school district serves parts of the following townships in Kent County: Ada, Bowne, Cascade, Cannon, Grattan, Lowell and Vergennes. ...

operates area public schools. Murray Lake Elementary School serves Parnell, while Lowell Middle School and Lowell High School serve the entire district.
Elementary school boundary descriptions here
(see text for information on Murray Lake elementary)

References

External links

St. Patrick Parish

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Kent County, Michigan Unincorporated communities in Michigan