Founded as Parmer Switch on the Pecos & Northern Texas Railroad in 1898, Parmerton became the site of a model farm in 1906 using the Campbell dry farming method and run by Capitol Freehold Land & Investment Co. In 1907, the Parmerton Townsite Co. bought 200 acres of the farm and laid out a town that was designated the first county seat that same year, and a post office was soon established. Later in 1907, when Farwell was elected the new county seat, Parmerton's citizens departed, taking homes and other buildings with them, and only the railroad switch marks the site today.