Our History
As one of Vermilion’s founding families, the Parsons family has called the same segment of the South shore of the Vermilion River home since the late 1700s. Stemming from a long line of boat builders, captains, fishermen and sailors, Clifford Horton Parsons expanded the family’s existing property after purchasing an adjacent parcel of land on the river from the Driscoll Fish Co. in 1913.
Clifford H. Parsons and his son Nelson Parsons built commercial fish tugs and served as commercial fishermen themselves until focusing full-time on marina operations in 1957. After returning from four years of honorable service in the United States Coast Guard, Nelson’s son Donald returned to Vermilion and continued learning the family business. In 1967, Don married the love of his life, Karen, (seriously, 50+ years of marriage!) and in 1968 purchased the adjacent property, Ryser’s Boat Livery, expanding the marina.
Parsons Marina continued operating Ryser’s boat rental business and bait & tackle shop to serve local fishermen and boaters on their way out to the lake. Despite raising three rambunctious kids at the time (Nate, and the twins: Christy and Cliff), Don and Karen took over the family business and full-time marina operations in 1976.
Parsons Marina circa 1950
As business continued to grow, Don and Karen expanded dock availability by installing floating docks along the property. In 1986, they built the first “you-store” building in the area to service boaters and local residents alike and expanded the business’s boat storage capacity by purchasing additional land. In 1998, Parsons built four Morton buildings to accommodate indoor boat storage for the harsh Ohio winters.
The bait and tackle shop, along with the boat rental, closed in the early 2000s and Captain Don had another project up his sleeve. In the fall of 2002, Parsons Marina purchased the M/V Mystic Belle, a 28’ flat bottom river barge, to operate as a tour boat along the Vermilion River. It passed Coast Guard inspection the following spring and scenic river tours are still offered to this day from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Cliff Parsons, Christy Parsons, Dave Varga, and Tim Schroeder
With Cliff at the helm, the eighth generation of Parsons took over in 2002 and Captain Don and Karen were finally able to “retire.” Don’t worry, Captain Don hasn’t gone far - his retirement career is happily spent captaining the M/V Mystic Belle and retelling the river’s impressive history. As one of the most iconic Captains on the river, you’ll still see his smiling face around and maybe even get a “ding!” of the bell! Karen keeps busy by maintaining the lovely flowers and keeping tabs on the eight grown grandkids.
With Cliff’s passing in 2021, it has been an all-hands-on-deck effort to keep the marina’s operations running smoothly. We’ll never be able to replace Cliff or his smile, but we will continue his legacy. Until the ninth generation of Parsons takes the helm, Christy has stepped up to lead the company with Don, Alicia, and the rest of the family’s guidance. JJ, our yard manager, has remained our rock throughout this past year and has diligently kept marina operations on track. It’s never easy to weather a storm such as this one, but we remain steadfast and thankful to our loyal dockers, customers, and our local community for the continued support and understanding through this challenging time.
In Loving Memory of Clifford A. Parsons
Unfortunately, on Christmas Day in 2021, Cliff passed away unexpectedly due to a massive stroke. He is forever in our hearts and we will continue to honor him and his impressive legacy.
To read Cliff’s obituary, please click here.
The Parsons Family (Left to Right): Nate, Mira, Graham, Don, Karen, Savannah, Christy, Gene, Dylan, Tyler, Blake, Aiden, Cliffy, Alicia, and Cliff.
Not pictured (but will be the next time we’re all reunited): Amy Parsons!
Come Check Us Out!
636 Sandusky Street
Vermilion, Ohio 44089
Marina Hours
Monday–Friday
8am–5pm
Marina Office Phone
(440) 967-7910
Mystic Belle Reservations
(440) 315-1907