Perry’s post office opened in 1875, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #76 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Perry was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Its Register listings are the Perry Post Office, Old, the Taylor County Jail, Old and the First Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1910.
Founding year: the first Perry post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Perry’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Perry is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #76 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Perry’s overall grade.
Few Florida towns list much on the Register (a typical Florida town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Perry’s 4.2 sits above most of its state (81% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.4 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Perry’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1922, Perry was a very small town of fewer than 2,000 people. During this time, a murder happened and three people were lynched for the crimes. Private retribution against the suspected families and those that gave them support ensued. The Perry Massacre occurred in Perry on the 14th and 15 December 1922, during which whites hanged Charles Wright and attacked the blacks of Perry after the murder of a white schoolteacher. On the day following Wright's lynching two more black men were shot and hanged; whites then burned the town's black school, Masonic lodge, church, amusement hall, and several families' homes.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Perry.
Every building
Perry, building by building, 1913–1917
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Perry’s history
What year was Perry founded?
The Perry post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Perry rank for history?
Perry is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #76 of 638 in Florida. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Perry?
Three places: the Perry Post Office, Old (listed 1989), the Taylor County Jail, Old (1989) and the First Methodist Episcopal Church, South (2015).
How old are the homes in Perry?
7% of Perry’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1978.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (9), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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