The Bunker Hill Monument is well known statewide and nationally. The architect of this 221-foot-tall historical icon was Solomon Willard, a Petersham native.
Willard was born and raised in Petersham, attending schools there, according to Christine Mandel of the Petersham Historical Society. Willard’s birthplace once stood on the southeast corner of North Main Street and Route 101 and was taken down in 1890, when the current stone house was built, she continued. This house was one of the houses occupied by Daniel Shays’ men on the night of Feb. 3, 1787 during Shays’ Rebellion. “Solomon would have been about 4 years old at that time. His older brother, Samuel, wrote about the experience in later years,” she said.
Willard left home for Boston at age 21, where his first job was fitting pipes for wharf constructions at 30 cents a day, according to a biography written by J.B. Howe in the 1880s and published in “Sketches of Petersham Natives and Adopted Citizens” in 1915 by the Petersham Historical Society.
Willard studied drawing and connected with the (Boston) Athenaeum, attending lectures on anatomy, geology and chemistry, Willard studied and practiced architecture and design, built an extensive winding staircase, a model of the capitol in Washington, becoming a teacher of architecture, drawing and designing, the biography continued.
Willard was appointed superintendent and architect of the monument by the Bunker Hill Monument Association, according to Bill Parrow, Park Guide National Parks, Boston. Willard was initially assisted by Loammi Baldwin and Gridley Bryant.
The Bunker Hill Monument Association, which included such noted members as Daniel Webster, decided to build the monument in the 1820s. “They wanted to memorialize the soldiers who served at Bunker Hill, men who fought in the battle, as well as the battle itself,” said Parrow.
The association held a design competition for the proposed monument, originally requesting column designs for the competition. “During this competition they also received several obelisks designs and the committee instead chose to make the monument an obelisk,” said Parrow.
The winner of the competition was Horatio Greenough. “It was up to Solomon Willard to turn Greenough’s design into an obelisk that could actually be built,” Parrow said.
The building of the monument began in 1827 and was completed in 1843. “The building was stopped three times for a lengthy amount of time due to a lack of money,” Parrow said. “They underestimated the cost, as a project like this had never been done before… There was nothing like the Bunker Hill Monument that had been built at that time. It was a huge gamble. They had nothing to go by,” Parrow continued. The total cost of the project was $120,000, all funded by donations, which would be approximately $3 million dollars today, Parrow said.
Solomon Willard stayed on the project from beginning to end, Parrow continued, adding he did not collect any salary from the project, although he was paid for expenses. “Willard kept track of every penny and kept track of every expense. It is fair to say that the monument would not have been built without Solomon Willard.”
Willard, known today as the father of the granite industry, also played a role in choosing the granite from the quarry in Quincy. To transport the granite, a railway was built from the quarry to the Neponset River in Quincy, said Parrow. This railroad was built by Gridley Bryant and was the first built in the United States.
Once the granite reached the Neponset River, it was floated along the coast to Charlestown. Horse-drawn carts were used to get the granite from there to the work site, he continued.
Eventually horse-drawn carts were used to bring the granite all the way from Quincy because it was cheaper than the multiple steps required using the Neponset River, Parrow said.
Initially, the monument was built using horse and pulley system. However, by the time the last 100 feet or so was being built, steam engines had been invented, so that technology was used, Parrow continued.
A dedication ceremony for the completed monument was held on June 17, 1843. President John Tyler attended. “Local people built it but it was a national event,” Parrow said.
The Bunker Hill Museum is dedicated to telling the story of the Battle of Bunker Hill and also includes a small section on how the monument itself was built. Also at the museum are cannon balls and weapons from the battle.
At one time, there were two Revolutionary War-era cannons, neither used at Bunker Hill, mounted inside the observatory, at the top of the Bunker Hill Monument. These cannons were used by George Washington’s Army and shortly after the war named Adams and Hancock. Adams currently resides at the lodge next to the Bunker Hill Monument while Hancock can be viewed at the Minuteman National Park in Concord.
The Bunker Hill Monument has 294 stairs and no elevator. The monument has been closed due to COVID-19. There are plans to reopen it in mid-July. More Information about the Bunker Hill Monument can be found at https://www.nps.gov/bost/planyourvisit/bhm.htm
Views from the monument can also be viewed live online at https://www.nps.gov/bost/learn/views-of-the-revolution-360-monument-webcams.htm
Carla Charter is a freelance writer from Phillipston. Her writing focuses on history with a particular interest in the history of the North Quabbin area.