The first white settler in this area, Herman J. Billig, arrived in the fall of 1865. In the spring of 1866, a mission was opened at Pierz and cared for by the pastor of Belle Prairie, Father Joseph Buh. Pierz was named for its first resident pastor, Father Francis Xavier Pierz, who served from 1871 to 1873, built the first church and school near the present brick church, and brought the Benedictine Sisters to the community. The township was named Pierz in 1869, the post office received that name in 1873, and the village name was changed from Rich Prairie to Pierz in 1894.