The post office was established February 8, 1892, with Aaron H. Yost first postmaster. C. H. Stewart of Albany told the compiler in 1927 that
the place was named for Parley J. Foster, who operated a gristmill in the neighborhood. In 1967, Mrs. William C. Foster added the fact that Parley's father, Alonson Foster, along with his son, also built a sawmill there in 1890.