Perry County is located along the banks of the Ohio River on Indiana’s southernmost borders. With its scenic river bluffs and rolling hills, Perry County offers sightseers a diverse array of spectacular vistas as well as an assortment of recreational opportunities.

Established in 1814, Perry County was named after Commodore Oliver H. Perry, whose American naval forces defeated the British in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. It was originally settled by French and English fur trappers and frontiersmen, who were attracted to the region’s natural resources. In addition, the confluence of the Anderson River and the Ohio River at Troy in Perry County quickly became a thriving commercial area for settlers traveling down the Ohio River and traders who shipped their goods back to the East Coast and Europe.

The largest community in Perry County is Tell City, with a population of approximately 7,845 residents. A thriving manufacturing and business center that serves a six-county region in Indiana and Kentucky, Tell City was a planned community established by the Swiss Colonization Society in 1858.

Cannelton, with nearly 1,209 residents, grew into Perry County’s second largest community after it became a bustling mining center created by the Cannel Coal Co. because of Cannelton’s rich coal deposits and convenient access to the Ohio River.

Perry County is centrally located, with Evansville approximately 50 miles to the west, Louisville, Ky., approximately 60 miles to the east, Indianapolis approximately 150 miles to the north and Nashville, Tenn., approximately 140 miles to the south.