Perry County was originally part of Cumberland County prior to March 22, 1820. The county takes it's name from Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the US hero of a naval engagement with the British on Lake Erie during the War of 1812.
Perry county is usually the brunt of jokes in Pennsylvania. It is thought that anyone from this county was either a hick, a redneck, inbred, or a combination of these. The reason behind this theory is because a lot of the county is farmland, and there are also parts that look as though civilization hasn't touched it yet.