Person:Merrill Knight (19)

Merrill Knight, Sr. was the first settler of Peru, Maine in the summer of 1794.^[1][2] He (and possibly a son) cleared the first piece of land while the rest of the family stayed in Falmouth. In the spring of 1795, Knight and workmen finished clearing and built a log home on the site with two rooms on the first floor. The house was destroyed by fire and the local citizens helped build another log house on the same farm while the Knight family stayed at the Wilson house. After township incorporation, it is believed that the Merrill Knight home hosted the town meetings from 23 Mar 1812 to 20 Sep 1817. Merrill Knight moderated at least one of the meetings, his house hosted a man's school in 1814, and he started and owned a ferry on the Androscoggin River.^[1]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Turner, Hollis. The history of Peru, in the county of Oxford and state of Maine, from 1789 to 1911: residents and genealogies of their families, also a part of Franklin plan. (Augusta, Me.: Maine Farmer Pub. Co., 1911).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Merrill Knight, in Find A Grave.

   In memory of Mr. Merrill Knight who died Sept. 1, 1817 in his 72nd year.
   
   In memory of Merrill Knight first settler and founder of Peru: erected in the Sesquicentennial year 1971 by Peru Citizens.