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History · Peru

The history of Peru

Below: maps from 1908 on.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

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.On the map since 19084 editions of the USGS map, 1908 to 1987. Watch Peru change.
★ 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
On the map

Peru on the map, 1908 to 1987

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 1908 USGS mapPeru on the 1962 USGS mapPeru on the 1971 USGS mapPeru on the 1987 USGS map1908Bellefonte 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.

The story so far

Peru, in brief

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

Peru is an unincorporated community in Benner Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. Peru is alternatively known unofficially as Lauvertown. Peru is located northeast of State College and southwest of Pleasant Gap along Pennsylvania Route 26 near the Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution at Rockview.

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

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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Famous people

Famous people close to Peru

Nobody well known was born in Peru itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Jonathan FrakesAmerican actor and director · b. 1952
Jeff VanderMeerAmerican writer · b. 1968
Glenn ThompsonU.S. Representative from Pennsylvania · b. 1959
Andrew Gregg CurtinAmerican politician · b. 1815
C
Chris BahrAmerican football and soccer player · b. 1953
George Grey BarnardAmerican sculptor · b. 1863

Questions about Peru’s history

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.