The Shopping Center Patriot
Evelyn K. Hausman
General Israel Putnam Chapter, Danvers, Massachusetts
Daughters of the American Revolution, November 1974
on file at the Peabody Historical Society
Shopping Centers and Revolutionary War Patriots are two centuries apart, with seemingly nothing in
common. Here at the Northshore Shopping Center at Peabody, Massachusetts, they have met in a most
unusual way.
Graves of these early American Patriots are usually found in church yard cemeteries, family burial plots,
or even in lonely fields. Not so the grave of Jonathan Wilson, 3rd, who answered the Lexington Alarm.
His grave is in a special place at the Northshore Shopping Center where it is passed by people daily who
do not know this unique and interesting story.
Jonathan Wilson, 3rd, son of Isaac and Abigail Wilson, was born about 1756 in Essex County,
Massachusetts. The area was originally Salem, later Danvers, and now Peabody. His name does not
stand out for any spectacular feat or accomplishment. Only time and progress have perpetuated
Jonathan Wilson’s memory in a spot centrally located in a large shopping center.
April 19, 1775 is a historic date in our Nation’s history – a time when an “Instantaneous Army” of homespun citizens answered the Lexington Alarm to rout the British Army from the munitions stored at
nearby Concord. This was the call that Jonathan Wilson, 3rd, answered, marching in Col. Timothy
Pickering’s Regiment, Captain Samuel Eppes’ Company, along with several hundred Patriots from
Danvers and nearby communities. Records show he marched 45 miles and served two days.
His original burial in 1815 took place in the Wilson Private Burying Ground on the Jacob Rogers estate. It
is believed that his father, Isaac, bought this plot of land from Jacob Rogers for a family cemetery.
During the middle of the 1950s’s plans were made for a large shopping center to be built in this area. At
this time Jonathan Wilson’s grave was discovered and due to the concerns of the Peabody Historical
Society, the Northshore Association offered to care for it and move it to a Place of Honor.
The remains and stone were transferred to the Cedar Grove Cemetery in Peabody until completion of
the Center. The return of the remains to the Northshore Shopping Center in 1958 required a letter from
the Center requesting the release of the remains and the stone from the cemetery, a permit from the
Peabody Board of Health and the services of a funeral director. Jonathan Wilson, 3rd, was reburied with
honor at a special service commemorating the event, attended by local dignitaries.
His boy lies at the head of the Avenue of Flags, in a plot of ground enclosed by a blue chain fence,
surrounded by shrubbery and floral plants. The white stone topped by an outspread eagle contains a
bronze plaque which reads:
Inscribed
in the memory of
Private Jonathan Wilson, 3rd
B. 1756 D. 1815
A Minute Man
19 April 1775
in Capt. Samuel Eppes’ Co.
Col. Timothy Pickering’s regt.
This tablet was placed by the Northshore Shopping Center.
Every Memorial Day a wreath is placed at the ssite and Veterans’ Organizations are invited to pay
tribute.