The Pierce Manse is a historic house museum located in

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2020 census the population was 43,976, making it the third largest city in New Hampshire behind Manchester and Nashua. The village of ...

. It was the home of the 14th president of the United States,

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...

, who lived there from 1842 to 1848, not long before his presidency.

Overview

Franklin Pierce and his wife Jane Pierce moved here after she persuaded him to resign his seat in the United States Senate and leave Washington, D.C. They owned the home from 1842 to 1848.Hannaford, Peter. ''Presidential Retreats: Where the Presidents Went and Why They Went There''. New York: Threshold Editions, 2012: 69. Pierce resumed his law practice and also served as

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

and chairman of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

.McFarland, Philip. ''Hawthorne in Concord''. New York: Grove Press, 2004: 175. . During this time, Pierce advocated on behalf of James K. Polk's campaign for the presidency. Polk appointed Pierce U.S. Attorney for the State of New Hampshire as a reward in 1845.Nowlan, Robert A. ''The American Presidents From Polk to Hayes: What They Did, What They Said & What Was Said About Them''. Denver, CO: Outskirts Press, 2016: 177. In May 1845, Pierce took a trip away from home to visit his friend Nathaniel Hawthorne and his wife

Sophia Peabody Sophia Amelia Hawthorne ( Peabody; September 21, 1809 – February 26, 1871) was an American painter and illustrator as well as the wife of author Nathaniel Hawthorne. She also published her journals and various articles. Life Early life S ...

, who were then living in The Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, along with their

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

friend Horatio Bridge. Peabody recalled the meeting fondly and recorded her first impression of Pierce as "loveliness and truth of character and natural refinement." In 1846, Polk offered Pierce the United States Attorney General position, which Pierce declined on account of his wife's health. That year, with the outbreak of the Mexican–American War, Pierce enlisted as a private and was soon promoted to brigadier general. After an accident resulted in injury during the Battle of Contreras, he resigned from the Army by 1848. In 1971 the building was threatened with demolition as part of an urban renewal project. Locals created the "Pierce Brigade", an organization to raise funds to purchase and save the home. Due to their efforts, the building was moved from Montgomery Street in Concord to its present location at 14 Horseshoe Pond Lane (in 1971 known as Penacook Street). It was opened to the public in 1974. The home is available for guided tours from mid-June to October. It continues to be operated by the Pierce Brigade.

References

External links

Pierce Manse
official site
"Life Portrait of Franklin Pierce"
from

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

's '' American Presidents: Life Portraits'', broadcast from the Pierce Manse, June 14, 1999 {{Coord, 43, 13, 03, N, 71, 32, 34, W, type:landmark, display=title Franklin Pierce family residences Historic house museums in New Hampshire Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire Houses in Concord, New Hampshire Presidential homes in the United States Museums in Merrimack County, New Hampshire Biographical museums in New Hampshire Presidential museums in the United States Tourist attractions in Concord, New Hampshire Historic district contributing properties in New Hampshire National Register of Historic Places in Concord, New Hampshire

Overview

See also

References

External links