Perham was named for Josiah Perham, the first president of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1864, whose dream of a railroad from Lake Superior to the Pacific Coast was fulfilled after his death; the railhead reached Perham on September 30, 1871, bringing settlers, trade, and prosperity, while flour and lumber mills provided employment for hundreds. Early settler Henry L. Kemper established the area's first store at Rush Lake, then moved it to Perham with Henry Drahmann when the railroad arrived, forming Kemper Bros. and Drahmann, a business the Drahmann family continued until 1964 after 97 years of operation. Kemper and Drahmann also ran a grain elevator and the Toad River Flour Mill, which shipped the first carload of wheat hauled by the Northern Pacific Railway in the fall of 1872, and in July 1874 they started the first newspaper, later the Perham Bulletin; Kemper also founded the town's first bank in 1899 and served as postmaster. In the 20th century, Darrell "Tuffy" Nelson founded Pine Lakes Feed Co. in 1947, building it into Tuffy's Pet Foods and selling it to H.J. Heinz Company in 1971; his son Kenny later joined the firm, helped start Barrel O' Fun in 1973, started Kenny's Candy in 1987, formed KLN Enterprises Inc. in 1995, and bought back Tuffy's Pet Foods in 2001, returning the plant to local ownership. The Nelson family businesses became major employers and purchasers of agricultural products, and in 1990 the Tuffy Nelson family received the Builder of the Valley award. Perham's past is also preserved in the History Museum of East Otter Tail County, housed in an 1887 stone building, in Paul Miller Park by Little Pine Lake, once a hunting ground of the Ojibwe after they drove the Dakota from the area following decades of conflict in the late 17th century, and in Pioneer Village, where historic log houses and other buildings have been reconstructed with original materials.