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History · Peru

Peru dates to 1767, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

1767founded
0on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
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Photo: John Phelan · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How Peru began

When was Peru founded?

1767

Peru dates its founding to 1767 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1816.

2020 census: 814259 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1816.The full story ↓

What stands out about Peru’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Peru are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Older than the countryEstablished in 1767, 9 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Peru’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Peru, 1767 to 1928

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1767
    FoundingPeru is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1816Post officeThe Peru post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1928Post officeThe Peru post office closes
The story

How Peru came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Peru.

Read it all →

Originally known as Northern Berkshire Township Number 2 and including all of Hinsdale and part of Middlefield, the town was first settled in 1767 and was officially incorporated as Partridgefield in 1771. Originally named for Oliver Partridge, one of the three purchasers of the town (along with Governor Francis Bernard), the name was officially changed to Peru in 1806, on the suggestion of the Rev. John Leland, "because it is like the Peru of South America, a mountain town, and if no gold or silver mines are under her rocks, she favors hard money and begins with a P."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Peru, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Public Library2008Public LibraryPierceroadbridge2006PierceroadbridgeGarnethillrd2006GarnethillrdFullerbrook2006FullerbrookBonny Lane2006Bonny LanePeru - 143 E2005Peru - 143 E
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Peru had its own post office from 1816 to 1928.

Peru
1816–1928
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Camp Danbee
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Peru
NorthPeru

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

HinsdaleIts storyA−Middlefield2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWorthington4 historic placesA+Washington7 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCummington1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Peru’s history

What year was Peru founded?

In 1767, according to Wikidata. Peru’s post office opened in 1816.

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 (6), 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.