PEABODY — City officials, residents, and members of the Danvers Alarm List gathered at the Lexington Monument on Patriots’ Day to honor the soldiers from Peabody and Danvers who died during the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
Mayor Ted Bettencourt spoke at the event Monday to honor the soldiers and thank the Peabody Historical Commission and Society for their work in preserving city history, including the placement of a QR code on the monument so passersby can scan it for more information on the monument’s historical significance.
“What you do matters,” Bettencourt said to the members of the Historical Society and Commission. “So many names should not be forgotten for their sacrifice.”
The commemoration continued on to the Bell Inn and Tavern, a short distance from the monument.
School Committee member Beverley Griffin Dunne said that she often comes to the annual event because it is important to preserve the city’s history. She recalled how the city and groups like the Historical Society worked to conserve the Bell Inn and Tavern when it was close to being demolished just a few years ago.
“I never want to miss it,” Griffin Dunne said.
The Bell Inn and Tavern was previously a mansion owned by the O’Shea family, a furniture store, and a program house for people with mental health problems before it fell into disrepair. But before all of that, it was the place where the Danvers militia met to march 16 miles, without much training or equipment, to Arlington for the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
Owner and developer Ed Greeley recently restored the tavern, with the help of the Historical Society.
City Council President Stephanie Peach, who was a history major in college, was also in attendance and said that while the start of the Revolutionary War is something people learn about in textbooks, attending events like this “puts you in touch with history.”
“To grow up in Peabody and to live here and know that we played such a vital role, and we have members of this community who went and fought, is important,” Peach said.
Historical Society President Michael Bonfanti said that the commemoration next year, which will be the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, will be a big event.
“Hopefully more people will take part,” Bonfanti said. “The Revolution changed the world.”
Before heading to the Lexington Monument, people also gathered at Old South Cemetery to honor some of the soldiers who are buried there.
The fallen soldiers whose names are listed on the Lexington Monument are Samuel Cook, Henry Jacobs, Ebenezer Goldthwaite, Benjamin Daland, George Southwick, Jotham Webb, and Perley Putnam. According to the Historical Society, most of the men were only in their 20s when they died.
“At the time of their deaths, the men were all young, with much life before them,” the society’s website reads.
