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AHistory
History · Peru

Peru dates to 1772, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns · #349 of 758 in New York. What drives it

7 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Valcour Bay, a National Historic Landmark. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1820.

1772founded
7on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Peru’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Peru began

When was Peru founded?

1772

Peru dates its founding to 1772 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 2,710 in 18202020 census: 6,772254 years

How historic is Peru?

A

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1798.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Peru’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Peru is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #349 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Peru’s overall grade.
Founding era1772, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194016.4% of homes (±5.9) · typical NY town 26.6% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register7 listings, 10.4 per 10,000 residents · typical NY town 12.3 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 85%
NewerOlder
New York towns of 2,500+ (758)Ahead of 54%

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 Peru’s 10.4 sits near the middle of its state (46% of New York towns have fewer) while its 7 listings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1772.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.9 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (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 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 writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost half of its people between 1830 and 1930, then grew 3-fold.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Peru, and 5 old place names are still on the map.A National Historic Landmark7 places on the National Register, including Valcour Bay, a National Historic Landmark.
★ 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.
Retake an old viewSouth Plattburgh (Village); Schuyler Fa…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Peru, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,0006,5007,0007,50018501900195020004,949 in 1830Low: 1,989

Lost half of its people between 1830 and 1930, then grew 3-fold.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Peru’s post office has been open since 1798. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Peru
1798–today
Peasleeville
1846–1967
Valcour
1855–1951
Lapham
1882–1909
17901910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Conwells Mobile Home ParkLaphams MillsPeasleevilleSouth Acres Mobile Home ParkValcour
Gone or out of use
Calkins SchoolschoolClark SchoolschoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 5school
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Peru
BaggsBlockhouseCalkinsPeasleevilleSaint Augustine

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

The story

How Peru came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Peru.

Read it all →

The area was first settled by Connor VanNess in 1772. The Battle of Valcour Island was fought in Lake Champlain in the eastern part of Peru in 1776.

Peru was formed from parts of the towns of Plattsburgh and Willsboro (the latter now in Essex County) in 1792. Part of Peru was returned to Willsboro in 1799. In 1838, part of the town was used to form the towns of Au Sable and Black Brook.

On April 20, 2002, around 6:50 am, a magnitude 5.2 earthquake was centered in the western part of Peru, 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Plattsburgh with only marginal damages.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Peru in 1908

Passages that mention Peru, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Settlement of the Country 60 1 from the place of his birth, came over to Peru, and served as a private in the royal army raised to quell the insurrection that broke out after Gasca's return to Castile. Amidst his military occupations, he found leisure to collect materials for a history of the perio…
History of the conquest of Peru1908 · page 601Read the page →
Read the text

Settlement of the Country 60 1 from the place of his birth, came over to Peru, and served as a private in the royal army raised to quell the insurrection that broke out after Gasca's return to Castile. Amidst his military occupations, he found leisure to collect materials for a history of the period, to which he was further urged by the viceroy, Mendoza, Marques de Canete, who bestowed on him, as he tells us, the post of Chronicler of Peru. This mark of con-

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

Peru, 1772 to 2010

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1772
    FoundingPeru is established
  3. 1798Post officeThe Peru post office opens
  4. 19th century
  5. 1836BuiltHeyworth-Mason Industrial Building is built
  6. 1846Post officeThe Peasleeville post office opens
  7. 1855Post officeThe Valcour post office opens
  8. 1869In the archiveSouth Plattburgh (Village); Schuyler Falls (Village); Schuyler Falls Subscriber's Busines…
  9. 1874BuiltValcour Island Lighthouse is built
  10. 1880BuiltLyon Street School is built
  11. 20th century
  12. 1913On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1951Post officeThe Valcour post office closes
  14. 1961LandmarkValcour Bay named a National Historic Landmark
  15. 1967Post officeThe Peasleeville post office closes
  16. 21st century
  17. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 6,998
By decade

Peru, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1860s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
South Plattburgh (Village); Schuyler Falls (Village); Schuyler Falls Subscriber's Business Directory; Peru Subscriber's…1869South Plattburgh (Village); Schuyler Falls (Village);…
Today2 recent
Only monument containing Benedict Arnold's name2015Only monument containing Benedict Arnold's nameValcour Island and Lake Champlain from Au Sable Marsh2012Valcour Island and Lake Champlain from Au Sable Marsh
On the map

Peru on the map, 1913 to 1966

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

Peru on the 1913 USGS mapPeru on the 1956 USGS mapPeru on the 1966 USGS map1913Dannemora 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 Peru.

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.

South Plattburgh (Village); Schuyler Falls (Village); Schuyler Falls Subscriber's Business Directory; Peru Subscriber's…
Retake this viewSouth Plattburgh (Village); Schuyler Falls (Village); Schuyler Falls Subscriber's Business Directory; Peru Subscriber's…, 1869

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

7 historic places in Peru

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
7
National Historic Landmark
1
Valcour Bay
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
Valcour Bay
Valcour Island Lighthouse, built 1874Carpenter's Flats BridgePeru Community ChurchHeyworth-Mason Industrial Building, built 1836Delaware and Hudson Railroad BridgeLyon Street School, built 1880Valcour Bay★
BuildingsSitesStructures★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Warren Steel Truss Bridge2
Second Empire1
Gothic Revival1
★ Landmark
Valcour BaySite
Valcour Island LighthouseSecond Empire · Built 1874
Carpenter's Flats BridgeWarren Steel Truss Bridge
Peru Community ChurchGothic Revival
Heyworth-Mason Industrial BuildingBuilt 1836
All 7 listings
Delaware and Hudson Railroad BridgeStructure · listed 1999Lyon Street SchoolBuilding · listed 2013

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Au Sable4 historic placesASchuyler Falls1 historic placeA−Plattsburgh1 historic placeB−Black Brook1 historic placeA−SaranacIts storyB+

Questions about Peru’s history

What year was Peru founded?

In 1772, according to Wikidata. Peru’s post office opened in 1798, and the census of 1820 counted 2,710 people here.

How does Peru rank for history?

Peru is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #349 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 Peru?

7 listings: 4 buildings, 1 site, and 2 structures.

How old are the homes in Peru?

16% of Peru’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1976.

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 (3), the National Register of Historic Places (7), Wikipedia, 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 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.