Perryville, Missouri

Perryville is the county seat and largest city of Perry County, Missouri. It had a population of 8,225 at the 2010 census. It was established in 1821, the same year as the county, and like it was named for Oliver Hazard Perry, a hero of the War of 1812.

History

The site of Perryville was first settled in 1801 by Isidore Moore, a Catholic from Kentucky who had been invited by the Spanish colonial government prior to the Louisiana Purchase and selected an open grassland between the Saline and Cinque Hommes creeks, known as "The Barrens." By the time of Missouri statehood the original tract of land was owned by one Bernard Layton, another immigrant from Kentucky. Due to its position near the geographic center of the newly-formed Perry County, it was selected in 1821 by the commissioners tasked with finding a place for the county seat, and formally laid out the following year. Named at once for Admiral Perry and the county it would be the center of, Perryville was incorporated as a village in 1831.

Thanks to its status as a seat of county government, Perryville grew rapidly. The first permanent courthouse was completed in 1826 (replaced in 1861 and most recently in 1904). Even before the creation of the town, a Catholic seminary, St. Mary's of the Barrens, had been founded in October 1818, making it the first such institution west of the Mississippi River, and operated until 1985. As Perryville lay on the El Camino Real (King's Highway), the Spanish colonial road linking St. Louis with Cape Girardeau, it received much long-distance overland traffic and trade. A number of banks, mercantile establishments, and other businesses quickly sprang up, owned by such prominent Western entrepreneurs as Jean Ferdinand Rozier. Though the town suffered some disruption during the Civil War, it was not as severely affected as other communities, and by 1882 had obtained fourth-class city status, by which time it had a population of some 750. It could also boast of agricultural sophistication; bread made from Perryville flour won first prize at the 1873 Vienna World's Fair and the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

During the early 20th century, Perryville saw an increasing degree of industrialization. A power plant was built in 1913 to provide the city with electric lighting, and in the 1920s a branch of the International Shoe Company was opened, spurring a rise in population to some 3,900 by 1940. After the plant closed down in the mid-1960s, however, Perryville leaders were forced to diversify the local industrial base, opening the Perryville Industrial Park and creating the Perry County Industrial Development Authority in 1983 to attract more businesses. The completion of Interstate 55 in 1972 also contributed, with more service businesses opening near the local interchange. As a result, despite a brief slump in the 1980s, the city has seen consistent growth and a healthy economy into the early 21st century.

Geography

Perryville is located in central Perry County, approximately 12 miles southwest of the Mississippi River. Its official coordinates are 37°43’34”N 89°52’18”W. It lies in the upland part of the county, in gently rolling ground between Saline and Cinque Hommes creeks, with the low river floodplains well to the east and northeast. The city has a total area of 7.96 square miles, and an average elevation of 581 feet.

The major highways in the city are Interstate 55, which passes along the city's southwestern edge and along which many of its service businesses are located; U.S. Route 61, which runs through the center of Perryville from northwest to southeast, paralleling I-55; and Missouri State Highway 51, which runs north to south through the west of town.

Perryville's climate can be described as humid subtropical, with hot summers, cool to cold winters, and a moderately high amount of precipitation. January temperatures average about 30°F, compared to 77°F in July, and the average annual precipitation is 41.2 inches. As is common in the Midwest, severe weather occasionally strikes the area; an F4 tornado struck the northwestern neighborhoods of Perryville on February 28, 2017, inflicting significant damage and killing one person.

Category	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December	Average
Average high (°F)	39.7	46.2	56.4	67.0	76.0	84.1	88.6	87.1	79.9	69.9	55.9	43.9	66.2
Average low (°F)	20.2	24.2	33.3	42.4	51.8	61.6	65.8	63.2	54.7	42.6	34.0	24.6	43.2
Average precipitation (in)	2.37	2.32	3.73	4.15	4.53	3.59	3.40	3.36	2.95	3.03	4.52	3.29	41.24

Demographics

At the 2010 census, Perryville had a total of 8,225 inhabitants, grouped into 3,288 households, with a population density of 1,054.5 people per square mile. This figure marked a significant increase from the 2000 census, when Perryville had a population of 7,667. 95.33% of the inhabitants were White, 0.75% were African-American, 0.39% were Native American, 0.90% were Asian, 0.07% were Pacific Islander, 1.28% were from some other race, and 1.28% were from two or more races. Hispanics of any race were 2.69% of the population.

The median age in Perryville was 36.5 years, with 25.4% of inhabitants under the age of 18, 8.4% between 18 and 24 years old, 25.6% between 25 and 44, 22.9% between 45 and 64, and 17.7% 65 years old or older. The sex ratio was 47.7% male, 52.3% female.

According to the 2017 American Community Survey, Perryville had a median household income of $45,141, and a median family income of $62,021. The unemployment rate was 4.5%. The per capita income was $22,097. About 11.0% of the population lived below the poverty line, including 14.0% of people under the age of 18 and 8.6% of people 65 years old or older.

Government

Perryville has a mayor-council form of government. The city is run by a mayor and six aldermen, two of which are elected from each of its three wards. All officeholders are elected for two-year terms. The current mayor is Ken Baer, first elected in 2018.

Economy

The hub of the Perry County economy since the mid-19th century, Perryville derived most of its prosperity from its being the seat of county government and a centrally located market for the population. After 1900, small- to medium-scale manufacturing became more prominent in the city, with such enterprises as International Shoe Company moving in. With the development of the Perryville Industrial Park in the 1970s, other businesses replaced these. Leading manufacturers in Perryville today include:

• Gilster-Mary Lee Corporation, producing breakfast cereals and baking mix
• Sabreliner Corporation, providing maintenance for aircraft engines
• Seguin Moreau, a French wine company, processing local timber into wine barrels
• TG Missouri Corporation, a Toyota subsidiary, manufacturing airbags, steering wheels, and interior trim pieces
• Bierk Farms Gravel Company, a processor and vendor of local gravel

The Perry County School District, Perry County Memorial Hospital, and Wal-Mart are also major employers in the education, health care, and retail sectors.

Education

Perryville is the headquarters of the Perry County 32 School District, formed in the 1960s from the consolidation of various smaller districts throughout the county. It includes five schools: the Perryville Early Childhood Special Education Center (PK), Perryville Elementary School (K-4), Perry County Middle School (5-8), Perryville High School (9-12), and Perryville Area Career & Technology Center (9-12). The district has a total enrollment of about 2,400 students and some 350 staff, and offers dual credit courses with Mineral Area College, Three Rivers Community College, Southeast Missouri State University, and the University of Northwestern Ohio. Its mascot is the Pirates, and the school colors are green and white.

In addition, there are two private parochial schools: St. Vincent de Paul School (Catholic), serving grades K-12, and Immanuel Lutheran School (Lutheran Church Missouri Synod), serving grades K-8.

Community Life

The Perryville community has a number of different cultural influences, though the early Catholic settlers and the German Lutheran migration of the 19th century were by far the strongest--those two churches remain the most prominent among the population. St. Mary's of the Barrens Catholic Church, established in 1818, is on the National Register of Historic Places, as are two private residences.

A major recreational center for the town is the Perry Park Center, which opened in 1999 and includes an aquatics center, a gymnasium, a performing arts center, a movie theater, a library, and sports facilities. There are two yearly festivals, a Mayfest held each May on the courthouse square, and the St. Vincent de Paul Seminary Picnic, held in August on the fairgrounds of the former seminary.

Notable People

• Bill Cissell (1904-1949), Major League Baseball infielder
• Chris Janson (1986- ), country music singer and songwriter