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A−History
History · Peru Township

Peru Township’s post office opened in 1820, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Macksville Tavern. Below: maps from 1915 on.

1820first post office
1on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Quick answers

How Peru Township began

When was Peru Township founded?

1820

The Peru Township post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Peru (1820) and Pontiac (1848), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 1,054206 years

How historic is Peru Township?

A−

More historic than 76% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Peru Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Peru Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Peru Township is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Peru Township’s overall grade.
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 76%
NewerOlder

Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Peru Township’s 8.7 sits above most of its state (72% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

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 (±8.2 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 Peru Township’s past

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

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Peru Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Places that used to be

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

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Peru
1820–1904
Pontiac
1848–1882
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
PeruPontiac
Gone or out of use
Laurel Hill SchoolschoolPeru Officepost officePontiac Post Officepost officeSchool Number 1schoolSchool Number 10schoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 6schoolSchool Number 6school
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Peru Township
Peru CenterPontiac

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

On the map

Peru Township on the map, 1915 to 1972

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

Peru Township on the 1915 USGS mapPeru Township on the 1944 USGS mapPeru Township on the 1960 USGS mapPeru Township on the 1972 USGS map1915Norwalk 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 Township.

The story so far

Peru Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Peru Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Peru Township is one of the nineteen townships of Huron County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census the population of the township was 1,054.

Its first post office opened in 1820. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,105 to 1,054 (-5%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Peru Township, 1820 to 1915

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1820Post officeThe Peru post office opens
  3. 1848Post officeThe Pontiac post office opens
  4. 1864Born hereAlbert Fisher is born here
  5. 1882Post officeThe Pontiac post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1904Post officeThe Peru post office closes
  8. 1915On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Peru Township, decade by decade

On the National Register

1 historic place in Peru Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Macksville Tavern
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1

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.

Questions about Peru Township’s history

What year was Peru Township founded?

The Peru Township post office opened in 1820, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Peru Township rank for history?

Peru Township is more historic than 76% of U.S. towns. 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 Township?

One place: the Macksville Tavern (listed 1976).

How old are the homes in Peru Township?

14% of Peru Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.2 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1988.

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 (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.