Parkton began in the mid 1700s when a farmer named Parke laid off part of his farm into building lots, creating the village. It became a major commerce center between Baltimore and Pennsylvania after the York-Town Turnpike was completed in 1810 and the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad was extended there in 1838, later becoming the Northern Central Railroad in 1854. These developments made Parkton an important shipping point for farmers' milk, grain, and wood products. Between 1875 and 1910, the village included a hotel, blacksmith shop, several churches, bank, schoolhouse, department store, grocery store, livery, undertaker, large warehouse, and a fine 2 story railroad station, and its 1860 era hotel and 1910 era bank buildings may still be seen today. With the coming of the automobile, the decline of the railroad, the construction of I-83, and the damage from several major storms in the 1970s, especially Hurricane Agnes in 1972, Parkton began to return to simpler beginnings. The Parkton Local, also called the Ruxton Rocket, was an important commuter train for daily travel into Baltimore, making a one-hour ten minute trip from Parkton through White Hall, Monkton, Sparks, Ashland, Cockeysville, Ruxton, and Lake Roland before reaching Calvert Station 28 miles away in downtown Baltimore. Service on the line used a Pennsylvania Railroad 66 passenger-baggage diesel electric motor car combine, and the final run took place on June 27, 1959.