1843 July 10 – The courthouse at Perryville burns.[6]
1845 November – Decatur County is formed from the portion of Perry County west of the Tennessee River, the county seat is moved to a village near the new geographic center of the county.[7]
1848 – The town of Linden is established as the county seat.[3]
1850s
1850 – Harper's Statistical Gazetteer reports 10 grist mills, a saw mill, a furnace, two tanneries, 21 churches, and 23 schools enrolling 685 students in the county.[8]
1863 May 12 – Union cavalry forces land on the east bank of the Tennessee River and conduct a raid on Linden, burning the courthouse and capturing Confederate personnel and equipment.[13]
1864 September 27–30 – Confederate and Union forces skirmish near Lobelville and Beardstown.[14]
1865 April – Martial law is lifted and civil courts resume following the Civil War.[3]
1868 – A new courthouse is constructed in Linden to replace the one destroyed during the war.[3]
1869 – Two Black men are removed from the local jail by a mob and lynched.[15]
1870s
1871 – The Craig Farm is established on Lick Creek.[16]
1880s
1880-1884 – The first regular newspaper is published in the county.[2]: 40–42
1890s
1890 – The first known bank in the county, Linden Bank and Trust, is established.[2]: 109–110
1941-1944 – Perry County is included in the area covered by the Tennessee Maneuver Area during World War 2, though the extent of training activity in the county is unclear.[25]
1944 – Kentucky Dam is completed, impounding Kentucky Lake and inundating small portions of county along the Tennessee River.[26]