Peru State College is a public four-year institution located in the rural city of Peru, Nebraska, in the Midwest region of the United States. Founded by members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1865, making it the first and oldest institution in Nebraska, it would undergo several name changes before receiving its current name. The college is organized into three schools, each supporting a different set of majors, including a graduate program, plus an extensive online education program that is credited with the college's most recent successes. It occupies over twenty buildings on a beautiful 104-acre (0.42 km) campus known as the "Campus of a thousand oaks". Peru State College was originally incorporated under the name Mount Vernon School (sometimes noted as Mount Vernon Seminary or Mount Vernon College) on December 2, 1865, under the management of the Methodist Episcopal Church, after the need for a local institution was discussed November 11, 1865. The Nebraska territorial legislature chartered the school on February 12, 1866, under the name Peru Seminary and College.