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History · Perryville

Perryville’s post office opened in 1810, and 54% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 55 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1830.

1810first post office
3on the National Register
54%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Perryville began

When was Perryville founded?

1810

The Perryville post office opened in 1810, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1817.

First census: 283 in 18302020 census: 782216 years
Founding year: the first Perryville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1817.The full story ↓

What stands out about Perryville’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 1920 and 1930, then more than doubled.A historic districtThe Perryville Historic District takes in 55 historic buildings.Old housesHalf of Perryville’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Perryville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Perryville, census by census

02004006008001850190019502000631 in 1920Low: 349

Lost a third of its people between 1920 and 1930, then more than doubled.

17 censuses, 1830–2020.

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

On the National Register

3 listings protect 57 historic buildings

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
57
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Perryville Historic District
Perryville Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal1
Greek Revival1
Victorian1
Crawford HouseFederal
H. P. Bottom HouseVictorian
All 3 listings
Perryville Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1973

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

The story

How Perryville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Perryville.

Read it all →

The site was first settled by James Harbeson and a band of Virginians in the final stages of the American Revolution c. 1781. Harbeson's Fort or Station was located near a cave and spring to provide additional protection from Indian raids. The settlement's position beside the river and along roads leading to Harrod's Fort, Louisville, Lebanon, and Danville caused it to be renamed Harbeson's Crossing.

In 1815, Edward Bullock and William Hall laid out a new town at the site named for Cmdr. Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. Bullock started the post office the next year and the state legislature incorporated the city in 1817.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Perryville, 1810 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1810Post officeThe Perryville post office opens
  3. 1848Born hereE. Belle Jackson is born here
  4. 1861In the archiveMap of Perryville and Surrounding Country Including Louisville, Frankfort, and Lebanon
  5. 1872Born hereRobert McNutt McElroy is born here
  6. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Boyle County - Perryville - ED 11-1, E…
  7. 1881Born hereElizabeth Madox Roberts is born here
  8. 20th century
  9. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1927In the archiveBoy holding Union and Confederate bullets
  11. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 841
By decade

Perryville, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1880s2 items
Map of Perryville and Surrounding Country Including Louisville, Frankfort, and Lebanon1861Map of Perryville and Surrounding Country Including L…Map1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Boyle County - Perryville - ED 11-1, ED 11-418801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Bo…
1890s–1910snothing 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
1920s1 item
Boy holding Union and Confederate bullets1927Boy holding Union and Confederate bullets
1930s–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
Today9 recent
Perryville-City-Hall-ky2017Perryville-City-Hall-kyPerryville-Baptist-Church-ky2017Perryville-Baptist-Church-kyHistoric-Perryville sign-Boyle-House-ky2017Historic-Perryville sign-Boyle-House-kyChaplin-River-Perryville-south-ky2017Chaplin-River-Perryville-south-kyChaplin-River-Perryville-north-ky2017Chaplin-River-Perryville-north-kyWalkway Along Chaplin River2011Walkway Along Chaplin RiverPerryville Cave and Spring2011Perryville Cave and SpringJane Crawford Trail South Along U.S. 68 West2011Jane Crawford Trail South Along U.S. 68 WestElmwoodin winter 22009Elmwoodin winter 2
On the map

Perryville on the map, 1905 to 1991

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

Perryville on the 1905 USGS mapPerryville on the 1952 USGS mapPerryville on the 1979 USGS mapPerryville on the 1986 USGS mapPerryville on the 1991 USGS map1905Harrodsburg sheet · 1:125,000

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

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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Boyle County - Perryville - ED 11-1, ED 11-4
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Kentucky - Boyle County - Perryville - ED 11-1, ED 11-4, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Perryville

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

See all →
Elizabeth Madox RobertsNovelist and poet · b. 1881
Robert McNutt McElroyAmerican historian · b. 1872
E. Belle JacksonAmerican educator, community leader · b. 1848

Questions about Perryville’s history

What year was Perryville founded?

The Perryville post office opened in 1810, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1817.

What is on the National Register in Perryville?

Three places: the Crawford House (listed 1976), the H. P. Bottom House (1976) and the Perryville Historic District (1973).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (11), the Library of Congress (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) 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.