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History of Perham, MN
In 1871 Josiah Perham, the first president of the Northern Pacific Railroad, had a vision of taking a railroad from Lake Superior to the Pacific coast. Once the railroad entered Otter Tail County in September 1871, many people began to settle in the area. The original townsite was laid out in June of 1872 and the first wooden buildings were built. The village was platted March 6, 1873 and in March 1877 it officially became Perham, named after the NP Railroad president. The village was officially incorporated by the 22nd Session of the State Legislature on February 14, 1881.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,559 people, 1,104 households, and 642 families residing in the city. There were 1,167 housing units. 50.3% were of German and 14.8% Norwegian ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 1,104 households out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.8% were non-families.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 24.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,397, and the median income for a family was $40,184. The per capita income for the city was $16,444.
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