"[citation needed] Perrine moved to Idaho Territory in 1884 and established a farm and ranch operation in the Snake River Canyon near present-day Jerome.

He was a successful farmer and rancher who among other things received a gold medal for his fruit display at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis.

[1] Although Perrine's operation in the canyon received plenty of water, the surrounding area could not be easily irrigated and was therefore largely unproductive.

Beginning in 1893, Perrine worked to convince private financiers to build a dam on the Snake River, along with a corresponding canal system to irrigate the area.

Also named for him are an elementary school in Twin Falls and Perrine Coulee, which runs through the city and ends as a waterfall on the south rim of the canyon, west of the bridge.