Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Perry was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: maps from 1944 on and the census since 1890.
Perry dates its founding to 1888 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Perry’s history is told.
Peaked at 273 in 1980; 194 people lived here in 2020.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Perry’s Wikipedia page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Perry.
Perry was originally founded as Wagener before changing its name in 1888. It is named after Benjamin Franklin Perry, the provisional Governor of South Carolina after the Civil War.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyWeddings 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.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Perry.
Nobody well known was born in Perry itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
In 1888, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Perry’s post office opened in 1889, and the census of 1890 counted 69 people here.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
