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History · Perry

Perry’s post office opened in 1821, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1910 on.

1821first post office
0on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Perry’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Perry began, and where its name came from

When was Perry founded?

1821

The Perry post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, North Perry (1860), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 802205 years

How did Perry get its name?

Perry was named after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, hero of the War of 1812.

Founding year: the first Perry post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Deep rootsA post office since 1821: 205 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
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewGeneral View of: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Perry, 1821 to 1910

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1821Post officeThe Perry post office opens
  3. 1860Post officeThe North Perry post office opens
  4. 1869Born hereAnnie Louise Brown Leslie is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1907Post officeThe North Perry post office closes
  7. 1910In the archiveGeneral View of
The story

How Perry came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Perry.

Read it all →

Once part of Plantation T1 TS, the area was settled in 1758 by John Frost, who built a trading post beside the St. Croix River. Situated on Passamaquoddy Bay, the town was incorporated on February 12, 1818,

even as the British held Eastport 6 miles (10 km) away. It was named after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, hero of the War of 1812. Part of the community lies within the Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Indian Reservation.

A church in the town was inspiration for the name of the webcomic known as Perry Bible Fellowship.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Perry, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
General View ofc. 1910General View of
1920s–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
Today5 recent
Perry, Maine2012Perry, MainePerry, Maine2012Perry, MainePerry, Maine2012Perry, MainePerry, Maine2012Perry, MaineLittle River in Perry, Maine, 20122012Little River in Perry, Maine, 2012
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.

General View of
Retake this viewGeneral View of, c. 1910

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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Perry’s post office has been open since 1821. Another post office, North Perry, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Perry
1821–today
North Perry
1860–1907
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
North Perry
1cemetery inside Perry
Leland

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.

Pembroke1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLubec7 historic placesA+Eastport6 historic placesA+Robbinston5 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Perry’s history

What year was Perry founded?

The Perry post office opened in 1821, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.