Originally known as Northern Berkshire Township Number 2 and including all of Hinsdale and part of Middlefield, the town was first settled in 1767 and was officially incorporated as Partridgefield in 1771. Originally named for Oliver Partridge, one of the three purchasers of the town (along with Governor Francis Bernard), the name was officially changed to Peru in 1806, on the suggestion of the Rev. John Leland, "because it is like the Peru of South America, a mountain town, and if no gold or silver mines are under her rocks, she favors hard money and begins with a P."

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 26.0 square miles (67.4 km²), of which 25.9 square miles (67.1 km²) is land and 0.12 square miles (0.3 km²), or 0.41%, is water. Peru lies on the eastern border of Berkshire County, and is bordered by Windsor to the north, Cummington to the northeast, Worthington to the east, Middlefield to the south, Washington to the southwest, and Hinsdale to the west. Peru is 13 miles (21 km) east of Pittsfield, 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Springfield and 118 miles (190 km) west of Boston.

Peru has the highest mean altitude in Massachusetts and, along with neighboring Windsor, is one of only two municipalities with a mean elevation above 2,000 feet. It lies on high ground in the Berkshire Hills, with three main peaks in the town. Much of Peru is forested, with a large portion of the northern third of town covered by a wildlife management area, and much of the southern third covered by the Peru and Middlefield State Forests. To the west of town, Ashmere Lake flows out into Bennett Brook, eventually reaching the East Branch of the Housatonic River. To the east, many brooks, including Trout Brook, flow south and east towards the Westfield River, part of the Connecticut River watershed (Trout Brook is actually one of the main sources of the river).

...
Wikipedia