Perry County is named for Oliver Hazard Perry, who was a naval office in the War of 1812 and won a decisive naval victory at the Battle of Lake Erie.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Randolph County, Illinois and Jackson County, Illinois
E – Jackson County, Illinois and Union County, Illinois
S – Cape Giradeau County and Bolinger County
W – Madison County and Ste. Genieve County
Created: November 16, 1820 
County Seat:
Perryville 1821 – present
County Courthouse – Perryville
Location: 15 West Sainte Maries Street / North Jackson Street
Built: 1904 – 1905
Style: Romanesque Revival
Architect: John W Gaddis of Vincennes, Indiana
Contractor: Caldwell and Drake of Columbus, Indiana.
Description: The building faces north and is a two story red colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The building located on the spacious landscaped grounds of the Courthouse Square in the center of Perryville. The building is 65 feet by 92 feet. At each entrance is a small white colored wood portico on the first story. The center sections rise to a hipped roof line. On the center of the roof is a high square clock tower with peaked roof. There are horizontal bands of stone. In the interior, the floors have green and white colored hexagonal tiles and the plaster walls are painted white. In the center is an open atrium extending into the second story. The east entrance has the staircase which ascends to the second story. The County Circuit Court courtroom is located in the center of the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Cout of the 32nd Judicial Circuit.
See: The architect, John W Gaddis of Vincennes, Indiana also designed courthouses in Illinois in Crawford County and Wayne County, in Indiana in Clay County, Huntington County and Putnam County.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Perry County Courthouse
See: The 32nd Judicial Circuit includes Bollinger County, Cape Giradeau County and Perry County.
History: The county was created in 1821 and Perryville was selected as the county seat in 1822 when the county was organized. The first courthouse was a rented two story log structure. The second courthouse was built by Thomas Hayden in 1826 at a cost of $1,486.25. The third courthouse was built under the supervision of John R Layton in 1861 at a cost of $8,000. The cost of construction of the fourth and present courthouse in 1904 to 1905 was $31,819.
County Courthouse – Perryville
Photos taken 2009