(KLZA)--A stop at a garage sale by Peru resident Dennis Meyers led to the discovery of the original deed to the land on which Peru State College was founded.
Meyers and his wife purchased a box of secondhand books.  In one of those books Meyers found the more than 160 year old document that traced ownership of the property which included a number of influential early figures from the area. 
Among them was Thomas J. Majors, an Iowa native who had set out of Pikes Peak in search of gold. He turned back at Kearney when he came across weary prospectors returning empty-handed.  Majors stopped in Peru and in 1859 opened a mercantile business that helped anchor the community of about 100 people. 
Another figure was William Dailey, the son of Samuel Dailey who built a sawmill in Peru in 1857.
Methodist Reverend, Hiram Birch who wanted to build a church and was only able to secure funding if the building was serve as a school instead.
Prior to 1857 the community was known as Mount Vernon.  The renaming occurred in 1857.  In 1861 area residents pooled $8,000 to build Mount Vernon Hall, a three story college perched on a hill  overlooking the Missouri River.
The school had several names including Peru Academy, and Peru Seminary before it became Mt. Vernon College, with the first classes held on August 30, 1866. On June 30, 1867 the State of Nebraska formally recognized the college, making it the first institution of higher education.
Currently the site of Mount Vernon Hall lies beneath  Peru States Student Center.
The found deed indicates the land, 160 acres, was originally granted by President Abraham Lincoln to David Roberson on April 1, 1861.
On August 10, 1867, then owner, William Dailey and the originally group of trustees, confirmed by the courthouse in Auburn, formally granted the land to the State of Nebraska.
Today, Peru State College sits on a 104 acre campus in Peru, in Nemaha County, overlooking the Missouri River.