Janie Gray Pierce
By Town Historian, John Dwyer.
Miss Janie was born in Southbury, 3 November 1889, to John Pierce, Jr., and Jane Drakeley. They were descended from Deacon John Pearce and Ann Huthwitt, and also from Titus Hinman, founding families of our town. Her father bought the old French family homestead in 1882. It stood at Pine Tree Corners, so named for a distinctive tree, a well-recognized landmark, which grew there.
As there was no high school in the town of her youth and so, she, a serious student, had to travel to nearby Woodbury for her further education. She graduated there as class valedictorian in 1907. By the time that she turned 21 she was employed as the teacher at the nearby District School, a position that she held till her retirement. She was commonly referred to as “Miss Janie”, most often at her own insistence.
She spent her free time traveling to nearby towns to visit friends or associates, and by performing piano recitals or arranging entertainment at neighborhood social events. Her music teacher was a distant cousin, Miss Bessie Pierce, a graduate of Yale music school.
After her parents died, Janie moved into a house across the street and allowed the family home to be used as a Tea House.
In March 1971 Pearce sold about 100 acres to the town of Southbury on the condition that it be preserved as open space. “Janie Pierce Park Conservation Area” sits near Transylvania and Roxbury Roads at Pine Tree Corners.
In 1974, four days after her 85th birthday, Miss Janie died. On her gravestone in Pierce Hollow Cemetery it is inscribed, “A concerned and dedicated daughter of the town of Southbury.”