Perry, Florida Business Directory

The Beauty of the Natural North Florida

Updated: March 4, 2024

perry

Perry, Florida Business Directory

Located about 50 miles southeast of Tallahassee, along the US Highway 19 – US Highway 98 route is the small town of Perry. Florida. Also, known as the tree capital of the south, It is the county seat of Taylor County and is home to about 7,000 residents. These folks get to see the beauty that surrounds them – daily – in this natural North Florida town. It’s a great place to raise a family and to call home.

Just a few blocks off the main highway, you’ll find that the downtown area has a lot to offer. The historic downtown square makes a nice trip for local shopping and dining options. The restaurants are full of variety with plenty of menu choices the entire group will enjoy. Our steam locomotive era train station is a site for all to see. For outdoor enthusiasts, the Econfina River State Park offers many scenic viewpoints and opportunities to view wildlife. The Steinhatchee to Perry route follows the closest paved road parallel to the nearby Big Bend coastline. From fishing to paddling, shopping to dining and hiking to bicycling, we invite you to come experience all that nature has to offer!

Things to Do & Annual Events

Rosehead Park ( which “Rosehead” was the original name of the city ) is also in downtown Perry and is home to numerous events held each year. Some of the most popular annual events are; the Big Bend Brewfest held yearly in early March, the Florida State Bluegrass Festival each year in early April, the Smokin’ in the Pines Barbecue Festival sponsored in late September and the Florida Forest Festival held each year in late October. Not to mention; the “World’s Largest Free Fish Fry.” These events bring in thousands of spectators from all over the southern region and are sure to please even the pickiest attendees. Timber was and still remains a prime industry in the area, therefore; we are Home to the Florida State Forestry Museum, which depicts the history of the forestry industry within the sunshine state. This is a great place to visit. But wait… there’s more!

Being a Florida native and promoting local companies since 2005, we’ve learned a lot about the communities and the businesses offering services within each area. Whether you live in Perry, Florida or just passing through, support the businesses found here! Expect top notch quality by professionals who are trained and prepared to give you an outstanding service. Feel free to browse the business listings below or search for a specific service by using our category or city features.

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Taste of History

Perry was named after Madison Starke Perry (born; 1814 – died; March 1865). It was actually originally named Perrytown but later “town” was dropped and the name just became Perry. He was the Governor of Florida from 1857 to 1861. He was also a Confederate colonel during the American Civil War. The city became incorporated in 1903 and nearly twenty years later became headline news. In 1922, the Perry Massacre occurred. Back then this was a very small town ( it still is today with a population of around 7,000 residents ) However, in 1922 there were less then 2,000 people living in this small community.

The Perry Massacre took place in December 1922. ( Some say, ) On December 2, 1922, – around 4:40pm, a young white schoolteacher ( Annie “Ruby” Hendry )was found killed in Perry, Florida. Her body was found with her throat slashed, lying in a pool of blood. This was a horrific scene. Her face was in such despair from having been beaten with a blunt instrument, that it took half an hour to determine her identity. A mob of more than 1,000 white people killed four black men, including Charles Wright, who was lynched by being burned at the stake. They also destroyed several buildings in the black community. Places including; the town’s black school, Masonic lodge, church, amusement hall, and several families’ homes.

Here’s the story: 

On December 5, the police had linked the murder weapons found at the scene, a double-barreled shotgun and a bloody razor, to a black man who had been residing in the area and using the name “Charley Wright”. He was determined to be an escaped convict from adjacent Dixie County. Search parties with guns and bloodhounds were everywhere. Each night after the body was found, buildings serving the black community in Perry were burnt down: schoolhouse, lodge, amusement hall, and then the church.

Authorities deputized local citizens and the roads were sealed. On December 6, Cubrit Dixon, a black man coming from Madison County into Taylor County, was stopped and told to put his hands up by armed citizens who had been deputized. Dixon was shot and killed when he did not comply, and witnesses said he had seemed to be reaching for a gun in his back pocket. Examination of his body found only a closed pocketknife in his back pocket.

On December 7, Albert Young, another black man, was arrested in Valdosta, Georgia. Young was an escaped convict from Kindlon, Georgia, and an acquaintance of Wright’s. On December 8, Charley Wright was arrested in Madison County and identified by police as having used the name “Jim Stalworth”. Wright was then reported to have confessed to murdering Ruby Hendry and Young was reported to have admitted to having been with Wright. However, it was also reported that Wright said Young had not participated in the murder.

On December 8, 1922, a crowd of 3,000 to 5,000 white men stopped the transportation of the prisoners and took them for a kangaroo court trial. Wright was determined by the mob to be guilty and burned to death. Young was returned to sheriff’s custody and taken to the jail in Taylor County. On December 12, when Young was being moved from the jail, he was abducted and shot to death by a smaller mob.

The Madison–Enterprise newspaper reported on December 15, 1922, that a black man in Perry had been “accused of writing ‘an improper note’ to a white woman. As retribution for these actions, the man was shot to death in his home and his home was burned down on him.”

Wright, a 21-year-old escaped convict, and Albert (or Arthur) Young, his alleged accomplice, were arrested and jailed for Hendry’s murder. A mob several thousand strong, made up of local and out-of-state whites, seized the accused from the sheriff, and extracted a “confession” from Wright by torturing him. Wright claimed to have acted alone. He was subsequently burned at the stake and the crowd collected souvenirs of his body parts and clothing. Following this, two more black men were shot and hanged. Whites burned the town’s black school, Masonic lodge, church, amusement hall, and several families’ homes.

 

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