Governor Sidney Perham

SIDNEY PERHAM, the thirty-third governor of Maine, was born in Woodstock, Maine on March 27, 1819. His education was attained at the Gould Academy, and in the common schools of his native state. Perham taught school for fifteen years, working as a farmer during the summer. He entered politics in 1840, serving as the selectman for Woodstock. In 1853, he worked towards establishing the Republican Party in Maine, and from 1853 to 1854 served as a member of the Maine Board of Agriculture. Perham also served as a member and president of the Maine State Senate in 1854, was clerk of the Oxford County courts from 1859 to 1863 and served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 to 1869. He won the Republican gubernatorial nomination, and was elected governor by a popular vote in 1870. He won reelection to a second term in 1871 and to a third term in 1872. During his tenure, industrial work for prisoners was recommended, legislative sessions and elections were changed to biennial, a girl’s industrial school was proposed, and free high schools were initiated. After completing his term, Perham left office on January 7, 1874. From 1877 to 1885 he served as the appraiser for the port of Portland, and in 1891 served as a site selection commissioner for a new dry-dock on the Gulf of Mexico. Governor Sidney Perham passed away on April 10, 1907 and was buried at the Lakeside Cemetery in Oxford County, Maine.