DeForest Henry Perkins (December 24, 1872 – August 7, 1936) was an American educator, real estate developer, and political activist who was the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan in Maine from 1925 to 1928.
During his time as Grand Dragon, the Klan experienced both its peak in political strength before dramatically declining.
Senator, Ralph Owen Brewster, lost his primary contest to Sen. Frederick Hale, signaling the eclipse of the Klan as a force in Maine politics.
His father was a sea captain, storekeeper, and farmer who served two terms in the Maine House of Representatives as a Republican.
He was also President of the Portland Rotary Club (1916–17), a Four Minute Man during World War I, and a board member of United Americans, a super-patriotic, anti-communist organization.
In January 1925, Perkins spoke at a public hearing of the Maine Legislature regarding altering the direct nomination primary system.
Brewster's subsequent primary loss to another anti-Klan candidate, Frederick Hale, in the next senatorial election of 1928 spelled the end of the Klan as an effective political force.