File:Merchants’ Row, Buell Street, Perryville, KY - 52016341416.jpg

English: Built in the early-to-mid-19th Century, this Federal, Greek Revival, and Vernacular-style mercantile district known as Merchant’s Row retains its 1860s appearance, when the Battle of Perryville took place between Union and Confederate soldiers in and near the town, leading to the highest loss of life of any battle during the war in Kentucky. This set of buildings, mostly constructed in the 1830s and 1840s and survived the shelling of the battle, were shortly thereafter utilized as makeshift hospitals for the wounded and dying from both Confederate and Union forces, as well as injured civilians caught in the crossfire. The row survived the next century and a half largely unchanged in appearance and scale, without any significant losses or alterations. The most significant alteration to the district was the construction of a large neotraditional-style building mimicking the Greek Revival architecture of several other buildings in the town sometime in the 1980s or 1990s, and the utilitarian Perryville City Hall, built in the mid-20th Century. Merchant’s Row housed a variety of businesses supporting the economy of the town and needs of the surrounding rural population for most of its history, with this being supplanted by businesses catering to heritage tourism in the mid-to-late 20th Century. Unfortunately, due to the decline in heritage tourism, largely due to a lack of interest in it by the nation’s public, the row has become increasingly quiet and empty, and several buildings have deferred maintenance due to a lack of revenue to support their existence. Several businesses, however, do remain, filling the storefronts of these charming buildings and contributing to this place’s continued existence. The 19th Century buildings are contributing structures in the Perryville Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.