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Pearce is a mining ghost town named for James Pearce, miner and cattleman, who discovered gold nearby at what became the Commonwealth Mine in 1894. The Pearce Post Office was established on March 6, 1896. The railroad station opened in 1903. By 1919, Pearce had a population of 1,500. The town declined in the 1930s and became almost a ghost town in the late 1940s when the mine closed.
There are a few residents today, a pottery, a soap shop and curio shop as well as the Pearce Elementary School that has educated area children since 1912.
Opened in 1896, the Soto Bros. and Renaud Store was in competition with a mercantile run by John G. Smith. Renaud became sole owner of the store in 1901, successfully operating the store until it sold to Albert Rothe. The two story adobe structure was built with cedar and redwood beams. The cast metal facade was added to the front of the building by Charles Renaud. It is one of the largest adobe structures in Cochise County.
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