Hugh Peter's Monument

Have you ever noticed the rock with a plaque on it by Wenham Lake? This rock is Hugh Peter’s Monument and represents the first time a sermon was heard in Wenham in 1638. The minister leading the sermon, Hugh Peter, was originally from England, but traveled to Massachusetts in 1635. He would become a minister in Salem and then travel to Connecticut, helping with the colony’s founding. Peter would travel back to England and eventually be executed for his role in abetting Charles I’s execution. The monument for Hugh Peter was created in 1908 and located where Peter’s Hill used to stand. Peter’s Hill was a large hill by Wenham Lake but was removed in the 19th century when the ice industry began in town. The seal for the town of Wenham pictures this hill. In 1770, when the hill was still standing tall, John Adams, lawyer and second president of the United States, wrote about Peter’s Hill in his journal, saying it was like “a high loaf of our country brown bread.”  

Images: Photo of woman looking at the Hugh Peter's Monument, image of Hugh Peters, view of Wenham Lake in 1908.