by David Crumb
Parma Town Historian
Some of Hilton’s “old timers” in years gone by used to mention that the folks at Parma Centre had their own special accent. As people did not travel too much back then and the fact that the Rome, Watertown, and Oswego Railroad had bypassed Parma Center in favor of Hilton, it was feasible that Parma Center had become somewhat isolated. In 1876, the RW & O locally referred to as the “Hojack” railroad, was rerouted through the sleepy village of Unionville, two miles north of the Centre. When that happened, that small community later renamed North Parma, became a bustle of commercial activity. New stores opened, a string of new homes were built in the 1880s on West Avenue and local farms thrived. Good economic times were enjoyed by many. Parma Centre, however, remained static. It was still the town’s center, the Town Hall remained, the general store continued and there were blacksmith shops and other small cottage industries operating, but the main commercial development from 1876 forward was now in North Parma, which was later renamed Hilton in 1896.
So this Parma Centre accent that people used to remark about is all but forgotten. Some said the folks up there called it “Parmee Centra” and said “aye-ya” for yes and other quaint colloquialisms.
I asked an old resident from Parma Center about this “accent thing” a few years ago, and he said he didn’t remember much about it, but said some of the old timers in his day thought the folks up north in Hilton talked kind of funny.
The most significant building once located on the southeast corner was the Methodist Episcopal Church. This square brick federal style two story building was the first Methodist church erected on the west side of the Genesee River. It was erected in 1830. All Methodists in Parma would worship in this church. Later, in 1847, the members at Bartlett’s Corners (intersection of Route 259 and Curtis Road) erected their own cobblestone Methodist Episcopal Church. In the 1860s two Free Methodist churches were built at each of these locations until in 1883 all Methodists united and formed the Hilton Methodist Church on West Avenue in the village. The old 1830 church was deconsecrated and became a blacksmith shop, and later a gas station owned and operated by Norman “Toppy” Feil. A historical marker was erected to commemorate the old 1830 church in the 1950s, but according to Mr. Feil, was knocked down when a truck backed into it and later disappeared. All that remains of this historic church building are two bricks saved by Vernon Tyner, and recently donated to the Parma Hilton Museum by his daughter, Priscilla Tyner Beeman. There they are presently displayed by a photograph of the structure as it appeared as a blacksmith shop in the 1920s. Today, Crosby’s convenience store and gas station occupy the site. The original parsonage for this church still stands at 446 Parma Center Road and from 1922 to 1958 was the home of Vernon Tyner and family. It is opposite the Parma Center School.
