More historic than 17% of U.S. towns · #85 of 119 in Utah. What drives it
Most of Perry was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. Below: maps from 1955 on and the census since 1900.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1898.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 17% of U.S. towns, #85 of 119 in Utah. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Perry’s overall grade.
Utah towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Utah town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Perry’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (18% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1853.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size.
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 Perry’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Land in the area now known as Perry was first claimed in 1851 by Orrin Porter Rockwell and his brother Merritt, at a place now called Porter Spring. However, they only laid claim to the land and did not build a residence. Settlement by LDS pioneers began in 1853, when William Plummer Tippets built a cabin at the settlement known as "Three Mile Creek", there being a creek three miles south of Box Elder (now Brigham City). Another settlement known as "Welsh Settlement" was midway between Three Mile Creek and Box Elder, which joined with Three Mile Creek in 1869. In 1898 the community was renamed Perry after Gustavus Adolphus Perry and his family, who were among the early settlers.
In 1853, according to Wikidata. Perry’s post office opened in 1898, and the census of 1900 counted 260 people here.
How does Perry rank for history?
Perry is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #85 of 119 in Utah. 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.
How old are the homes in Perry?
3% of Perry’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 2001.
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), 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) 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.
2014
2014
2010
