Prior to the collection that we now know as the Perkins Museum of Geology, the early museum specimens traveled from the official Vermont state collection (of natural objects) in Montpelier to multiple locations on UVM campus, and ultimately to its present home in the Delehanty Hall building on the University of Vermont’s Trinity Campus. 

The earliest collection of geologic specimens was housed in the Old Mill from 1826 until 1862 when it was moved to Torrey Hall. The collection remained in Torrey Hall until 1931. Torrey Hall served as UVM’s first library, as well as a museum and classroom space. In 1931, the collection was relocated to the newly completed Robert Hull Fleming Museum, where it occupied the Geology Gallery until 1964.

The UVM Perkins Museum of Geology was officially established as a museum in 1962 in the Perkins building (formerly the Engineering Building). It began with items from the geology gallery and the Vermont State Collection, which is believed to be the oldest state geologic collection in the country.

The Vermont State Geological Survey was created because “Rumored and occasional finds of gold, copper, iron, and other valuable mineral resources in Vermont’s interior provided the impetus to assess the mineral wealth of the state, thus, in 1844 the office of state geologist was created by order of the governor. . . “(Howe, Jeffrey L., The Perkins Museum And the History of the State Collection.)

The museum was housed in the Perkins Geology building in 1964 until 2004. The museum received donations and items acquired from research projects, and other sources to expand upon existing exhibits. In 2002, over 5,000 specimens were digitally categorized, and the resulting digital archives are online on Perkins Museum of Geology website. While still housed in Perkins Geology building, the museum was renovated during the years 1991-93.

In 2004, The University of Vermont purchased Trinity College Campus; the Department of Geology and the museum moved from UVM Perkins Geology Building to Delehanty Hall building.

The museum is named for George Henry Perkins (1844–1933). He served for 35 years as the 8th Vermont state geologist until his death (1898–1933). As state geologist, he reported on the mineral industry in Vermont, primarily what came to be deemed the three state rocks: marble, slate, and granite.

In 1908, Perkins, as state geologist, added to Zadock Thomson's 1850s observations on what we now call the "Charlotte Whale" (Vermont State Marine Fossil). Perkins published an article entitled Fossil Cetacea of the Pleistocene of the United States and Canada (with special reference to Delphinapterus vermontanus, Thomson). In it, he provided detailed measurements of the bones and teeth and speculated on the major questions of the whale's age, lineage, and evolutionary history.

At UVM, in 1886, G.H. Perkins taught one of the first undergraduate courses in anthropology in the United States. He was also the subsequent dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. George Henry Perkins is not the person infamous for the promotion of eugenics; that was his son, Henry Farnham Perkins.