Editing Perryville, Missouri (section)

==History==
Perryville was selected the county seat of Perry County by Robert T. Brown, Joseph Tucker, and Thomas Riney, who had been appointed to select the seat of justice.<ref>State Historical Society of Missouri: Perry County Place Names http://shs.umsystem.edu/manuscripts/ramsay/ramsay_perry.html</ref> In 1821, Bernard Layton deeded {{convert|51|acre|m2}} to the commissioners in exchange for one town lot. Fifty-three of the 99 town lots were sold for $1,486.25, which was used to build the first courthouse. The current courthouse is the third such structure. It was built in 1904 at a cost of $30,000. Perryville and Perry County were named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, Naval hero of the War of 1812.<ref>The Centennial History of Perry County Missouri 1821-1921 Committee of Citizens 1921 reprinted by the Perry County Historical Society; Perryville MO: 1984</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RfAuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA338 | title=How Missouri Counties, Towns and Streams Were Named | publisher=The State Historical Society of Missouri | author=Eaton, David Wolfe | year=1917 | pages=338}}</ref>

An early store in Perryville was a log structure built by [[Jean Ferdinand Rozier]] on the north side of the square.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7j3NNrHFVR4C&q=york+chapel+longtown+close&pg=PA396 | title = Opening the Ozarks: A Historical Geography of Missouri's Ste. Genevieve District, 1760-1830 | isbn = 9780826263063 | author1 = Walter A. Schroeder | year = 2002}}</ref> An extant two-story brick building was built in 1830. The upper story serves as the first town hall.  Perryville was first incorporated in 1837, but the incorporation was allowed to lapse.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

As both merchandisers and consumers grew in sophistication, so did the types of establishments in the county. Built in 1843, the Hoose Hotel, often called the "white house",<ref name="books.google.com"/> was a prominent structure in early commercial days. The Hoose Hotel served as a hotel, a brewery and an auction block.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

In 1856, the town was again incorporated and by 1874 it had its first fire engine. Fourth Class City status was attained in 1879 and the following year Charles A. Weber was elected its first mayor.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Campbell |first1=Robert Allen |title=Campbell's Gazetteer of Missouri: From Articles Contributed by Prominent Gentlemen in Each County of the State, and Information Collected and Collated from Official and Other Authentic Sources |date=1875 |publisher=R. A. Campbell |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pQoTAQAAMAAJ&q=Abernathy+Settlement+missouri+longtown&pg=PA425 |language=en}}</ref> With the building of the [[Chester, Perryville and Ste. Genevieve Railway]], prosperity came.

Largely because of its role as the seat of county government and because of its central location, Perryville began to develop as the major commercial and service center in Perry County. The population increased from 897 in 1890 to 1275 in 1900.  Telephone service started in 1893.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greatriverroad.com/meetohio/perryville.htm|title=Greatriverroad.com - Perryville, Missouri |access-date=December 31, 2015}}</ref>

===2017 tornado===
{{main|2017 Perryville, Missouri–Christopher, Illinois tornado}}
On February 28, 2017, an EF4 tornado tore through Perryville, causing widespread EF3 and some EF4 damage in and around the city. One person was killed.