Perry, Georgia

Perry is a city and county seat of Houston County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of the Warner Robins, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 9,600 at the 2000 census. /ˈhaʊstən/. The city is in the Macon metropolitan area.

History

Founded in 1823 as Wattsville, the town was located near the center of Houston County and served as its courthouse. The name was soon changed to honor Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, a hero of the War of 1812. The Georgia General Assembly incorporated the town on December 9, 1824. The original city limit was a circle, one mile in diameter, except where bounded on the north by Big Indian Creek.

Perry is perhaps best known as the location of the annual Georgia National Fair.

Ante-bellum industry in Perry included gristmills, sawmills, and cotton gins. The Houston Home Journal (now the Houston Times-Journal) began publishing in 1870. Robins Air Force Base in nearby Warner Robins has been a significant employer since World War II. Other manufacturers in the city have included Frito-Lay, Perdue Farms (formally Heileman Brewing Co.), and Cemex, Inc. (formally Penn-Dixie Cement and Medusa Cement Company).