Perry County Historical Society

Happy New Year! And Happy 200th Birthday to Perry County Missouri!! Thanks to Bill Eddelman and the State Historical Society of Missouri for posting a short history of our early beginnings.

Please give a warm, Perry County Welcome to BILL HART, our new Director - Perry County Genealogical Research Library and Archive! Bill is a home-grown boy. He was born to LeRoy and Anna Lee (Otte) Hart and raised in Perryville, Missouri. Bill has retired and moved back to Perry County. We are very lucky to have Bill join us after almost 13 years with the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation (Missouri Preservation); the last 6 years as the Executive Director. He is currently in training but will be happy to entertain visitors after the first of the year.

Perry County 1850 and 1860 Slave Schedules are digitized and viewable on the Missouri State Archives Website. Slave Owner names are included along with the age, sex, and color of the slaves. No slave names were included in the Perry County Slave Schedules. https://www.sos.mo.gov//C/Slave_1850/F50_1850_V3_Perry.pdf https://www.sos.mo.gov///Slave_1860/F108_1860_V2_Perry.pdf... Remember, there were only 3 townships in Perry County in 1850: Bois Brule, Brazeau, and Cinque Hommes. Your ancestor may appear in a different township than what you are expecting. The town of Perryville is identified and included on the Cinque Hommes pages. No other towns or areas were identified. In 1860, Perry County had expanded to 5 townships adding St. Mary's in West Perry County and Saline in Northern Perry County. Again, you may not find your ancestor in the usual township. Happy searching!

Bohnert Mill, a landmark in Longtown, has been torn down. Additional pictures of the mill from 2018. Thanks to Mel Hennemann for sharing. https://www.facebook.com/pg/Daves-Studio-Visual-Art-Services-116084151809213/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1622199127864367

Another great man and volunteer gone...Paul Collins, 96, died Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020 at his home

Funeral Arrangements for Billie Mills. A memorial service will be held Saturday, August 22 at 3:00 p.m. at Geyer Road Baptist Church in Kirkwood, Missouri.

If you haven't seen yet, please check out the mural displaying Perryville and Perry County Heritage that was completed in June by Christine Brunk-Deshazo. The mural is located on the SEMO Regional Planning building in downtown Perryville.

Our beloved Billie Mills passed away Saturday, August 8,2020. To know Billie was to know Perry County as her love and knowledge of local history was always present. Billie was one of the Perry County Historical Society's charter members in 1971 and she spent the next 40+ years educating us on our local history. Her pride and joy was the Faherty House which is currently being nominated as the oldest residential home in Perryville for the National Register of Historic Places.... When Billie wasn't serving as a mentor to many of us she was writing and documenting her research for the historical society office and our most popular publication the "Heritage"which she put together from 1990-2002. We lost not only a great local historian but a dear friend who will be greatly missed. (Picture-Billie is in the front center after cutting the ribbon to celebrate the opening of the Perry County Historical Society and Archives at the Perryville Higher Education Center, March 2015)

Welcome to Perryville’s FIRST and only bicycle hostel! Introducing Caroline’s Great River Road Inn! Located at 11 S. Spring Street behind our historic Faherty house. The combined efforts between the Perry County Heritage Tourism and the Perry County Historical Society has provided a cool space for bicyclists to put the kickstand down and hang out for a day or two. They can take in some local history, grab a craft beer, gourmet coffee, and delicious bites. Because we know this group of visitors LOVE local! Local eats, drinks, shopping, and soak up some local culture and natural surroundings is the name of the game! So tell your cycle friends and plan a visit TODAY! We can’t wait to see them! Call 573-517-2069 for more information.

A man from Belgium visited Belgique, Missouri and interviewed some locals in 2017. Check out his video below!

Important Announcement from the President of the Perry County Historical Society: Rules and guidance are changing quickly all over the world because of Coronavirus 19. Perry County Historical Society is not exempt from this. Effective immediately, the Perry County Genealogical Research Library and Archive in the Perryville Higher Education Center is CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. The President of Mineral Area College, who graciously allows us to use space, has locked their d...oors and will no longer allow volunteers or visitors. Because of this, our Director Meghan Helm Welker, will be working from home without access to many of our research materials. Until this pandemic subsides, we find it necessary to suspend additional research requests until further notice. Meghan is currently working 17 requests and will do her best to complete those. This will give her much needed time to work on the Bicentennial Book and coordinate the 100+ submissions we have received. In addition, the Perry County Museum in the Park will also be closed until further notice. We thank you in advance for your understanding while we write another chapter in the history of Perry County, Missouri. Take Care! Dana Lintner Farrow, President Perry County Historical Society

Important Announcement: The location of tonight's regular meeting has been changed! We will now meet at the Catalyst Center at 508 N. Main St. in Perryville, MO at 6:00 p.m.

The Perryville Higher Education Center and Mineral Area College will be CLOSED for Spring Break Monday, March 9 - Friday, March 13. This means that the Perry County Historical Society’s Genealogical Research Library and Archives will also be closed. We apologize for any inconvenience.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Our next regular meeting has been rescheduled for Monday, March 16!

Just a reminder that the Perry County Historical Society Library, Archives, and Office will be closed Monday, February 17th in honor of Presidents' Day.

Check out Perryville's mention in an article from the new St. Louis Genealogical Society Quarterly! The article is titled "City Directories: Underutilized Gems" by Viki Fagyal, and it is just one of the many interesting and helpful articles in the winter issue. You can find this issue, and many more dating back to 1969, of the St. Louis Genealogical Society Quarterly in our library.