Peru is a city in Nemaha County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 648 at the 2020 census. Peru State College is located in Peru.

History

The first attempt to settle the community took place in 1853, by some residents of Peru, Illinois. However, troops from Fort Kearny forced them to leave because

Nebraska Territory The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Nebraska. The Nebrask ...

belonged to the Otoe tribe. The settlers then temporarily settled across the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

at Sonora. In 1857, a community formed around a trading post called Mount Vernon on the bluffs above the river on the Nebraska side. In 1857, settlers founded Peru down the hill from Mount Vernon directly on the Missouri River. In 1861, a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

school called Mount Vernon Academy opened. In 1867, the school (which became Peru State College) became the state's first normal school. Floods in the 1860s changed the course of the river, pushing it nearly a mile from Peru. An 1867 flood caused the Nebraska community of McKissick Island, northeast of Peru, to be surrounded by Missouri land and precipitated a border dispute that would not be resolved until 1999.

Geography

Peru is located at (40.480055, -95.731286). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 865 people, 225 households, and 99 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 285 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.8%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 4.3%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.9% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 1.0% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 3.4% of the population. There were 225 households, of which 22.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 56.0% were non-families. 36.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age in the city was 21.4 years. 11.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 56.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 12.6% were from 25 to 44; 14.2% were from 45 to 64; and 4.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 54.3% male and 45.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 569 people, 246 households, and 132 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 290 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.66%

, 0.35%

, 0.18% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 1.76% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 2.99% of the population. There were 246 households, out of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were

living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.3% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.98. The median age of the population was 29 years. 23.7% of the people were under the age of 18; 22.3% were between 18 and 24 years old; 23.6% were aged 25 through 44; 17.8% were 45 to 64 years old; and 12.7% were 65 or older. In the total population, there were 103.9 males for every 100 females; among those aged 18 and over, there were 107.7 males for every 100 females. As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $27,216, and the median income for a family was $39,875. Males had a median income of $28,125 versus $22,500 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $14,637. About 16.0% of families and 20.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 14.9% of those age 65 or over.

International relations

In 2011, the city was selected by the

Republic of Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

for its " Marca Perú" campaign to promote national pride. A film crew and a number of Peruvian celebrities, including world surfing champion Sofia Mulanovich, tenor Juan Diego Flórez,

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominee Magaly Solier, Huayno singer Dina Paucar, and chef Gaston Acurio visited the city to film a documentary-style commercial. Páucar, dressed in ethnic Peruvian costume, led a

llama The llama (; or ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with ...

through the streets; Peruvian foods such as their national style of cebiche, and Peruvian soft drink Inca Kola were served at a street festival; the Peruvian surfing team performed on tarpaulins in a college parking lot; and an

acute accent The acute accent (), , is a diacritic used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin alphabet, Latin, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic, and Greek alphabet, Greek scripts. For the most commonly encountered uses of the accen ...

was painted over the "u" on the city's water tower."Activities Along Main Street, College Campus Included in Peru Meets Peru".''Nemaha County Herald''.
2011-04-22. Retrieved 2011-05-07.

Education

Peru State College, the first college in Nebraska, is located in Peru.

Notable people

* Herbert Brownell Jr.,

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

, was born in Peru. * Samuel Gordon Daily,

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

, lived in Peru.

References

External links

City of Peru
{{authority control Cities in Nemaha County, Nebraska Cities in Nebraska Populated places established in 1857 1857 establishments in Nebraska Territory