A Peek at Peirce’s
Pat – About the Man
We thought it might be interesting for our Peirce families to discover
just how Peirce School came to be! Our school was named after Solomon
Peirce, a man of unimpeachable record in his time. Born in Lexington in
1742, his occupation was that of a farmer, a cordwainer (or shoemaker)
as well as a surveyor of highways. After his marriage to Amity
Fessenden, Solomon began to purchase various lots of land in this area
and over the years continued to buy adjoining property comprising a
total of 95 acres.
In 1775, Solomon
Peirce enrolled as a
Lexington
Minuteman under the command of Captain Parker. Solomon was wounded in
the battle of Lexington on April 19 but was able to rejoin his company
to participate in the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17 and 18th,
1775. His active duty in the service of his country won him many
honors, and after the Revolutionary War, he was commissioned Captain.
Due to financial problems, Solomon was forced to sell his 95 acre farm.
He then resided in the Amos-Russell House, which was then owned by his
eldest son Jonas Peirce. (At this time Arlington was considered West
Cambridge.)
In 1803, Solomon
bought 250 acres of farmland, which came to be called Peirce’s Hill, and
which is presently Arlington Heights. Solomon and his wife lived in a
small house on this farm until his death in 1821. In 1872, an
association of men bought the farms located on this property owned
almost entirely by descendents of Jonas Peirce. It was the first
section of land in this area to be opened on an extensive scale for
building purposes.
In 1903, Solomon Peirce was honored by 220 descendents at a
special ceremony to erect a marble monument in his memory at the
Pleasant St. Cemetery in Arlington Center where he is buried.
