Charles Edward Parent

Charles Parent was in business in Iron Mountain longer than any other merchant. Mr. Parent was born in Canada on July 16, 1847, one of a family of four children. He came to the United States in 1865 and began lumbering in Maine. In 1866 he came to Michigan and located at Menominee, where he continued in the lumber business for two years. He then turned his attention to merchandising in Menominee, where he was in business until 1879. He then moved to Iron Mountain. The few people who were here at that time were living in tents.

He built the first house in the town, on Stephenson Avenue, and opened a stock of goods, where he enjoyed great success. In only eight months he sold out and erected a frame house. Parent was known to carry general merchandise, employed seven clerks, and did a thriving business, He also had a flour and feed store on the corner of Stephenson Avenue and Brown Street. The photo below was taken in downtown Iron Mountain on October 14, 1896 on the occasion of a campaign rally for presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan. The Parent sign posted above is visible in the upper left of the photo between the two poles.

Mr. Parent was credited with being very influential in promoting the growth and development of Iron Mountain. He had an interest in the Iron Mountain Electric Light and Power Company, and made investments elsewhere. He owned a farm of fifty acres in Florence County, and he even had mining interests on the Menominee Range.

Charles was married December 27, 1871, to Ellah Bradford, who was also a native of Canada. They were the parents of five children.

He served as Postmaster of Iron Mountain for five years, his first appointment having
been made by President James Garfield and the second by President Chester A. Arthur. Furthermore, he was the Township Supervisor and for eight years was a member of the City School Board, serving as Secretary and Treasurer.

Charles Parent died on Dec. 3, 1902, in Iron Mountain. The funeral was one of the largest held on the Range. The services were in charge of the Masonic Order, of which he was an honored member for many years.He is buried at Cemetery Park in Iron Mountain. The home in which he and his wife lived when he died was located at 125 West B Street and was far more extravagant than the tent he occupied upon his arrival in Iron Mountain in 1879.