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Perry County, Missouri (view source)
Revision as of 17:11, February 29, 2020
, 17:11, February 29, 2020Added to page
The county was officially organized in 1820 and named for [[Oliver Hazard Perry]], an American naval hero during the [[War of 1812]]. [[Perryville, Missouri|Perryville]] is the county seat and largest city.
The county was officially organized in 1820 and named for [[Oliver Hazard Perry]], an American naval hero during the [[War of 1812]]. [[Perryville, Missouri|Perryville]] is the county seat and largest city.
==History==
The Perry County area was part of the Mississippian culture before and during the [[Middle Ages]]. The Mississippians were known for their construction of earthen mounds, a number of which still exist near the [[Mississippi River]]. By the time of European contact, the region was dominated by the Illinois Confederation, including such tribes as the Kaskaskians and the Cahokians, though members of the Shawnee tribe would also move in from the east during the late 18th century.
The first Europeans to explore the area were Father Marquette and Ensign Joliet, leading a French expedition down the Mississippi from [[Canada]] in 1673; they were the first to observe and describe Grand Tower Rock in the middle of the river. French soldiers and colonists began settling just to the north, around Kaskaskia and Ste. Genevieve, by the mid-18th century; however, no such settlements were made in the Perry County area until after the Spanish took possession of the Louisiana Territory following the [[French and Indian War]]. In 1795, the colonial government began issuing land grants to settlers from the new [[United States of America|United States]]. A number of these early settlers were English [[Catholics]] arriving from [[Kentucky]], though some also came from [[Pennsylvania]] and the South.<ref>https://perrycountyhistoricalsociety.com/index/archives-2/perry-county-history/</ref> Most of the first settlements occurred in the so-called "Bois Brule" river bottoms, opposite Kaskaskia Island to the northeast.
Population growth increased after the Louisiana Territory was purchased by the U.S. in 1803, with more American pioneers arriving, including a colony of [[North Carolina]] [[Presbyterians]] who settled around Brazeau Creek further south in 1817, with a village of that name growing up around it. After the creation of the Missouri Territory and its division into counties in 1812, the region was made a part of Ste. Genevieve County, but soon a movement arose to form a separate jurisdiction. Perry County was officially formed by the legislature on November 16, 1820, though a county court was not organized until the following spring. The present site of Perryville was selected for a county seat, with a courthouse constructed in 1825.
==Communities==
==Communities==
===CDP===
===CDP===
* [[Biehle, Missouri|Biehle]]
* [[Biehle, Missouri|Biehle]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Missouri]]
[[Category:Missouri]]
[[Category:Counties]]
[[Category:Counties]]