as a trustee of Warren Academy, agent for Aetna Life Insurance Company, and stockholder and president of the Trumbull and Ashtabula Turnpike Company. Most importantly he served as state canal commissioner from 1826 to 1838, being one of the main planners for the route of the Ohio and Erie Canal. He also served as auditor of Trumbull County, Ohio from 1810-1812. Perkins was one of the largest land owners in the state. Portage County, Ohio records of 1815 show that he paid one-eleventh of all state real estate taxes from the county. Some of the townships listed are in present-day Summit County, Ohio. Most of these holdings were acquired through outright purchases. Some of his holdings were in what is now Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio and western Akron, Ohio. On March 25, 1815, he purchased 1,298 acres from Samuel Parkman for $2.08 an acre. This tract would become most of downtown Akron. When he learned of plans for a canal system that would run from Cleveland to the Ohio River, he immediately began to make more purchases of more land in this area. Some of this land was located near Summit Lake, located in what is now south Akron. He hoped that the new canal would be routed through this lake, increasing the value of the land. In 1825, he was successful in convincing the other canal commissioners of this route and therefore donated land to the state for the canal right-of-way. Also in 1825, he and Paul Williams (a settler from Connecticut) donated 100 lots of land to the state, thus founding the City of Akron. It was recorded on December 6, 1825 at the Portage County seat of Ravenna. Due to its location at the highest point on the new canal, Akron quickly became a prosperous town. However, Gen. Perkins never lived in Akron. His oldest son, Colonel Simon Perkins, moved to the Akron area in 1834 to oversee his father's holdings in the area. His large house, the Perkins Stone Mansion, was completed in 1837 and remains to this day, now operated as a house museum by The Summit County Historical Society of Akron, Ohio. Col. Perkins also operated a large sheep farm and wool business, among other concerns, which for a time was managed by the abolitionist John Brown. Perkins married Nancy Ann Bishop on March 1, 1804. They had nine children, Simon, Anna Maria, Olive Douglas,