Presidential Places: Franklin Pierce Homestead State Historic Site
According to author Michael Gerhardt in his new book The Forgotten Presidents: Their Untold Constitutional Legacy, if you go to Topeka, Kansas (which I have), you will see a presidential anomaly. There are a series of streets named after the Presidents of the Unted States in the order of their presidency. (I wonder if there are two Clevelands?) But in between Fillmore and Buchanan, the street is named Clay, in honor of Henry Clay. It seems that after the whole episode involving Bleeding Kansas, in which Topeka was the home of the anti-slavery government, Franklin Pierce was so despised that they refused to even paint his name on a signpost.
For many years after his death, there was no monument to Pierce, especially after the civil war when he was villified for his southern sympathies, his criticism of some of Abraham Lincoln's war measures and his enduring friendship with Jefferson Davis. However his home state of New Hampshire has seen fit to remember its native son in the The Franklin Pierce Homestead.
The Franklin Pierce Homestead State Historic Site was the childhood home of the fourteenth president. It is located in Hillsborough, New Hampshire and was built in 1804 by Pierce's father, Benjamin Pierce. The home is Franklin Pierce's probable places of birth. Pierce lived at the homestead until 1834 when he married the former Jane Appleton, with the exception of a seven-year span spent away for school, college, and studying law. It is located on the east side of Washington Road (New Hampshire Route 31), about 100 yards north of its intersection with (New Hampshire Route 9), in the Lower Village area of Hillsborough.
The home remained in the Pierce family until 1925, when it became the property of the state of New Hampshire. Notables such as Daniel Webster have stayed there. Today, it is operated by the Hillsborough Historical Society and has been designated a state park. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961. It is described as "a spacious and beautiful, federal style country home" which "reflects the gracious and affluent living of the nineteenth century." The home contains a ballroom which extends the entire length of the second floor. The ballroom was used for entertaining neighbors and some of the more distinguished families of the state and nation. Private and large group tours of the home can be arranged and the Pierce Homestead is available, at a fee, for private functions and meetings.
Following is more information about the site:
Website: http://www.nhstateparks.org/explore/state-parks/franklin-pierce-homestead-state-historic-site.aspx
Location: 301 2nd NH Turnpike, Hillsborough, New Hampshire
Hours of Operation: This site is open Fridays through Tuesdays from July 5th to September 3rd, 2013. Then, it is open weekends only from September 7th until it closes for the season October 14th, 2013. It reopens in May. Operating hours are 10 am to 4 pm, with the last tour at 3:15 pm.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Franklin-Pierce-Homestead/105536499479476
Twitter: @NHStateParks
For many years after his death, there was no monument to Pierce, especially after the civil war when he was villified for his southern sympathies, his criticism of some of Abraham Lincoln's war measures and his enduring friendship with Jefferson Davis. However his home state of New Hampshire has seen fit to remember its native son in the The Franklin Pierce Homestead.
The Franklin Pierce Homestead State Historic Site was the childhood home of the fourteenth president. It is located in Hillsborough, New Hampshire and was built in 1804 by Pierce's father, Benjamin Pierce. The home is Franklin Pierce's probable places of birth. Pierce lived at the homestead until 1834 when he married the former Jane Appleton, with the exception of a seven-year span spent away for school, college, and studying law. It is located on the east side of Washington Road (New Hampshire Route 31), about 100 yards north of its intersection with (New Hampshire Route 9), in the Lower Village area of Hillsborough.
The home remained in the Pierce family until 1925, when it became the property of the state of New Hampshire. Notables such as Daniel Webster have stayed there. Today, it is operated by the Hillsborough Historical Society and has been designated a state park. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961. It is described as "a spacious and beautiful, federal style country home" which "reflects the gracious and affluent living of the nineteenth century." The home contains a ballroom which extends the entire length of the second floor. The ballroom was used for entertaining neighbors and some of the more distinguished families of the state and nation. Private and large group tours of the home can be arranged and the Pierce Homestead is available, at a fee, for private functions and meetings.
Following is more information about the site:
Website: http://www.nhstateparks.org/explore/state-parks/franklin-pierce-homestead-state-historic-site.aspx
Location: 301 2nd NH Turnpike, Hillsborough, New Hampshire
Hours of Operation: This site is open Fridays through Tuesdays from July 5th to September 3rd, 2013. Then, it is open weekends only from September 7th until it closes for the season October 14th, 2013. It reopens in May. Operating hours are 10 am to 4 pm, with the last tour at 3:15 pm.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Franklin-Pierce-Homestead/105536499479476
Twitter: @NHStateParks