Peru, Massachusetts

Peru is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 847 at the 2010 census.HistoryOriginally known as Northern Berkshire Township Number 2 and including all of Hinsdale and part of Middlefield, the town was first settled in 1767 and was officially incorporated as Partridgefield in 1771. Originally named for Oliver Partridge, one of the three purchasers of the town (along with Governor Francis Bernard), the name was officially changed to Peru in 1806, on the suggestion of the Rev. John Leland, "because it is like the Peru of South America, a mountain town, and if no gold or silver mines are under her rocks, she favors hard money and begins with a P."GeographyAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 67.4km2, of which 67.1km2 is land and 0.3km2, or 0.41%, is water. Peru lies on the eastern border of Berkshire County, and is bordered by Windsor to the north, Cummington to the northeast, Worthington to the east, Middlefield to the south, Washington to the southwest, and Hinsdale to the west. Peru is east of Pittsfield, northwest of Springfield and west of Boston.