Perkinsville is named for Marion Alexander Perkins, who established a cattle ranch there in 1900. It is located 16 miles northwest of Jerome, 20 miles east of Chino Valley, and 33 miles south of Williams.

Today it is an abandoned train station on the Arizona Central Railroad. On November 1, 1900, Marion and his wife Annie and their six children set eyes on the countryside that was to bear their family name.  Marion had traveled by train to Williams from Holbrook, then by horseback to the Campbell 76 Ranch, today known as Perkinsville. At first, the Perkins ranch sold beef to feed the miners and smelter workers in Jerome and later would send cattle to Ash Fork or Del Rio Springs for transportation.  The ranch consists of 214.39 acres of deeded land, which according to the owner, approximately 45 acres are historically irrigated, and 60 acres of riparian lands, with the remainder in native rangeland.  Perkinsville was the site of the filming of "Santa Fe" in 1951 starring Randolph Scott. In 1964, Perkinsville played the role of Gold City in "How The West Was Won." Indian ruins on the deeded land give evidence the Perkins were not the first inhabitants. In 1936, the Perkinsville Bridge was built with the help of the New Deal. At that time, Perkinsville was the site of a quarry that shipped lime to the cement plant in Clarkdale. The bridge was built by the Arizona Highways Department using relief workers from homeless camps along the Verde River. 

True to his pioneer progressive spirit, Marion Perkins was one of the original founders of the Arizona Cattle Growers in 1903, in Tucson. In 1904, he was elected to the Territorial Legislature of Arizona. He also served twice as a Representative in the Arizona State Legislature. On June 30, 1927, Marion passed away, but he left a family devoted to the ideals he had pursued. The ranch on the Verde River has remained in possession of some of the Perkins family since the days of 1900. The children and grandchildren have been continuously in the cattle business for the past 125 years. 

submitted by Cindy Emmett from ECHOES OF THE PAST-TALES OF OLD YAVAPAI IN ARIZONA, published by Yavapai CowBelles, copyrighted in 1955 and reprinted in 1996 with permission by Reliable Productions, Tempe, Az.

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