The founders of the academy were Baptist minister Daniel Parker and his wife Priscilla, who were staunch abolitionists.
It was one of the first Ohio schools which welcomed both boys and girls, regardless of race.
In the early days, the students were taught in a one-room, 40-by-60-foot (12 m × 18 m) schoolhouse.
Northern Kentucky University faculty and students began the first excavation of the Parker Academy site in May 2015.
[3] In 2017, the National Science Foundation awarded a $336,300 grant to the Northern Kentucky University's the project.