Perkins History
As with many towns in the area, Perkins began with the Oklahoma Land Run of April 22, 1889. Joseph Wert staked a claim for 160 acres and offered up 40 acres of his land to be established as a township. The township went through three separate names in about a year's time: Cimarron, Italy, and finally Perkins. Why Perkins? It was Bishop Walden Perkins (congressman from Kansas) that pulled the necessary political strings to establish the post office for the new township. In honor of Perkins' contributions, the mayor of Italy filed an application with the Guthrie Land Office requesting that the town site be renamed from Italy to Perkins.

