Franklin Pierce House (South Main Street, Concord, New Hampshire)

The Franklin Pierce House was an historic house at 52 South Main Street in Concord, New Hampshire, United States. Built in 1852, it was a significant local example of Second Empire architecture, and was one of two surviving Concord homes of President Franklin Pierce at the time of its listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[1] Both Pierce and his wife Jane died in this house.[2] It was destroyed by fire on September 17, 1981.[3][4]

Not to be confused with the Pierce Manse which still stands at 14 Horseshoe Pond Lane.
Franklin Pierce House
The Pierce House in 1961, photo by Samuel Gottscho
Location52 S. Main St., Concord, New Hampshire
Coordinates43°12′1″N 71°32′3″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1852 (1852)
Architectural styleSecond Empire
DemolishedSeptember 17, 1981 (fire)
NRHP reference No.79000318[1]
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1979

Description and history

The Franklin Pierce House stood south of downtown Concord, on the west side of South Main Street between Concord and Thorndike Streets, in a row of similar Italianate/Second Empire houses. It was three stories in height, its third floor under a mansard roof. It was built of brick, but its exterior had been stuccoed and scored to give the appearance of brownstone. The steep slope of the mansard roof had dormers with segmented-arch tops and pilastered sides. The main facade was three bays wide, with a center entrance sheltered by a portico with fluted square posts and a bracketed eave.[2]

The building was constructed in 1852, and was originally built with Italianate styling and a flat roof. It was restyled later in the 19th century in the Second Empire style, adding the mansard roof. The house was most notable, however, for its association with United States President Franklin Pierce, who lived here with his family (as boarders of the owner, Willard Williams) intermittently after his departure from the White House. Writer Nathaniel Hawthorne visited the Pierces here in 1864, shortly before his death, and both Pierce and his wife Jane died in this house.[2]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "NRHP nomination for Franklin Pierce House". National Park Service. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
  3. "Historical house lost". The Boston Globe. September 18, 1981. p. 20. Retrieved July 4, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  4. "Fire destroys President Pierce home". The Berkshire Eagle. Pittsfield, Massachusetts. UPI. September 22, 1981. p. 28. Retrieved July 4, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
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