The town of Perinton was first settled by European Americans in the two flat areas of Perinton Center (Turk Hill and Ayrault Roads) and Egypt. The first settlers in Perinton were Glover Perrin, his wife Johanna and his brother Jesse. What was developed as the village of Fairport was a swampy area within the Town of Perinton until the 1820s, when it was drained by construction of the new Erie Canal. With the opening of the Canal, what was then known as Perrinsville quickly became a busy canal port with a reputation for being a "fair port." A further boon to the area's reputation as an industry and transportation center came with the construction of railroads in 1853. This now booming section of Perrinsville was incorporated as a village on and eventually became the center of activity for the town of Perinton.