Perry’s post office opened in 1815, and 54% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns · #132 of 758 in New York. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 41 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1820.
The Perry post office opened in 1815, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Perry Centre (1825) and Lagrange (1826), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 2,317 in 18202020 census: 5,832211 years
How historic is Perry?
A+
More historic than 96% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
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 96% of U.S. towns, #132 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Perry’s overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Perry’s 93.1 sits above most of its state (75% of New York towns have fewer) while its 45 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.6 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.
The Town of Perry was established in 1814 from part of the Town of Leicester (now in Livingston County). It was coincidentally formed at the same time as another town of Perry in Cattaraugus County; that town changed its name to Perrysburgh in 1818 after being split up. Parts of the town of Perry were removed later to form new towns.
Chester A. Arthur, the twenty-first President of the United States spent some of his childhood years in the Village of Perry after being born in Fairfield, Vermont. Irving C. Tomlinson, a Universalist minister who became a prominent Christian Scientist, was born in Perry in 1860.
Passages that mention Perry, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the town of Perry, New York1915 · page 39Read the page →
Read the text
As previously stated, the Town of Perry was incorporated in 1814. In that year the first town meeting was held at the tavern kept by Peter Beebe at Perry Center, and the following named officers were chosen: Supervisor, Jairus Cruttenden
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of the town of Perry, New York1915 · page 251Read the page →
Read the text
tow^n at an early period, but w^as not worked and never became a thoroughfare, owing to the impractical ravines which it crossed* A road was laid out in 1812 or 1813 from Perry Village north to the villages of Perry Center,LaGrange, Coviligton Center and Pavilion, to LeRoy. It was over these four roads that the first settlers came into the town and tlie regions in their vicinity were first settled-.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Perry, 1815 to 2020
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Perry. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1905Portage 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.
Every building
Perry, building by building, 1884–1913
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.
The Perry post office opened in 1815, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Perry rank for history?
Perry is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #132 of 758 in New York. 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?
5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Perry (listed 2006, the first), and 1 historic district, the Perry Downtown Historic District, with 41 contributing buildings. 45 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Perry?
54% of Perry’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.6 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 the Library of Congress (6), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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