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B−History
History · Perry

Perry’s post office opened in 1825, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns · #113 of 263 in Georgia. What drives it

Most of Perry was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2003. Its Register listing is the New Perry Hotel. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1956 on, and the census since 1870.

1825first post office
1on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
14famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Perry’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Perry began

When was Perry founded?

1825

The Perry post office opened in 1825, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 836 in 18702020 census: 20,624201 years

How historic is Perry?

B−

More historic than 48% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
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, #113 of 263 in Georgia. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Perry’s overall grade.
Founding era1825, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19402.2% of homes (±2.0) · typical GA town 3.8% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 3 historic buildings, 1.3 per 10,000 residents · typical GA town 10.0 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 48%
NewerOlder
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (263)Ahead of 57%

Georgia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Georgia town has 10.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Perry’s 1.3 sits near the middle of its state (37% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings 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 (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. 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.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1880 and 1910, then grew more than tenfold.Lost villages5 hamlets and corners are still on the map.Deep rootsA post office since 1825: 201 years of Perry.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Perry’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Perry’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRoad sign near Perry, Georgia: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Perry, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00018801900192019401960198020002020929 in 1880Low: 649

Lost a third of its people between 1880 and 1910, then grew more than tenfold.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Perry’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Perry’s post office has been open since 1825.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Beaver CreekBonners CampFox Ridge EstatesMoss OakNeal
Gone or out of use
Houston Female CollegeschoolPerry Academyschool
1cemetery inside Perry
Evergreen

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Perry came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Perry.

Read it all →

Founded in 1823 as Wattsville, the town was located near the center of Houston County and served as its courthouse. The name was soon changed to honor Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, a hero of the War of 1812. The Georgia General Assembly incorporated the town on December 9, 1824. The original city limit was a circle, one mile in diameter, except where bounded on the north by Big Indian Creek.

Antebellum industry in Perry included gristmills, sawmills, and cotton gins. The Houston Home Journal began publishing in 1870. Cotton was the most significant commodity crop in the 20th century.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Perry, 1825 to 2020

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1825Post officeThe Perry post office opens
  3. 1887Born hereCourtney Hodges is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1925BuiltNew Perry Hotel is built
  6. 1936In the archiveRoad sign near Perry, Georgia
  7. 1940In the archiveFlorida [Sarasota County (part) - Washington County] -- Georgia [Appling County - Effingh…
  8. 1946Born hereSonny Perdue is born here
  9. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1958Born hereRon Simmons is born here
  11. 1982Born hereWashed Out is born here
  12. 21st century
  13. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 20,624
By decade

Perry, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–1940s3 items
Road sign near Perry, Georgia1936Road sign near Perry, GeorgiaFlorida [Sarasota County (part) - Washington County] -- Georgia [Appling County - Effingham County (part)]1940Florida [Sarasota County (part) - Washington County] …PerryGeorgiaMarch19411941PerryGeorgiaMarch1941
1950s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today20 recent
Georgia I75nb Todd Rd Overpass2014Georgia I75nb Todd Rd OverpassGeorgia I75nb S Perry Pkwy Overpass2014Georgia I75nb S Perry Pkwy OverpassGeorgia I75nb N Perry Pkwy Overpass2014Georgia I75nb N Perry Pkwy OverpassPerry, GA, USA2013Perry, GA, USAPerry, GA, USA - panoramio (8)2013Perry, GA, USA - panoramio (8)Perry, GA, USA - panoramio (7)2013Perry, GA, USA - panoramio (7)Perry, GA, USA - panoramio (6)2013Perry, GA, USA - panoramio (6)Perry, GA, USA - panoramio (5)2013Perry, GA, USA - panoramio (5)Perry, GA, USA - panoramio (4)2013Perry, GA, USA - panoramio (4)Perry, GA, USA - panoramio (3)2013Perry, GA, USA - panoramio (3)Perry, GA, USA - panoramio (2)2013Perry, GA, USA - panoramio (2)Perry, GA, USA - panoramio (1)2013Perry, GA, USA - panoramio (1)Chemical Biological Incident Response Force Marines train to respond to world crises 130816-M-AR635-1062013Chemical Biological Incident Response Force Marines t…2013 08 29 drfanday 24s20132013 08 29 drfanday 24sRisher's Restaurant, finest food served -- anywhere2011Risher's Restaurant, finest food served -- anywherePerry Court2011Perry CourtNew Mecca Court -- Perry, Ga. "One block from Traffic Light on Highway U. S. 41."2011New Mecca Court -- Perry, Ga. "One block from Traffic…Nell's Cafe2011Nell's CafeMoss Oaks Lodge, Perry, Georgia -- "Come Tarry Here and Welcome Be"2011Moss Oaks Lodge, Perry, Georgia -- "Come Tarry Here a…GAMap-doton-Perry2005GAMap-doton-Perry
On the map

Perry on the map, 1956 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Perry. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Perry on the 1956 USGS mapPerry on the 1973 USGS mapPerry on the 1985 USGS map1956Perry sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Perry.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Road sign near Perry, Georgia
Retake this viewRoad sign near Perry, Georgia, 1936

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Perry’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Perry

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
2004
New Perry Hotel
New Perry Hotel, built 1925
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals1
Classical Revival1
Colonial Revival1
New Perry HotelLate 19th and Early 20th Century Revivals · Built 1925

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

14 famous people were born in Perry

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Sonny PerdueAmerican politician · b. 1946
Courtney HodgesUnited States general · b. 1887
R
Ron SimmonsAmerican football player and professional wrest… · b. 1958
Washed OutAmerican musician · b. 1982
Al ThorntonAmerican basketball player · b. 1983
Casey HaywardAmerican football player · b. 1989
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Warner Robins1 historic placeD

Questions about Perry’s history

What year was Perry founded?

The Perry post office opened in 1825, 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, #113 of 263 in Georgia. 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?

One place: the New Perry Hotel (listed 2004).

How old are the homes in Perry?

2% of Perry’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 2003.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (22), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.