Summer White Houses: Franklin Pierce's Summer Home
Though a son of the Granite State of New Hampshire, President Franklin Pierce spent his summers as President in Andover, Massachusetts where he escaped the summer heat of D.C. in a home lacking in an ostentatious title, simply identified as 48 Central Street.
According to the Andover Historical Society, it is not known who the original builder of the home was, only that the house was built sometime before 1849, when Judge John Aiken moved into the large home. Judge Aiken served as the local agent for a number of manufacturing companies, including the Appleton Manufacturing Company. Franklin Pierce was married to Jane Means Appleton. He was also the President of Phillips Academy and of the Andover Seminary Trustees, and he lived in Andover until his death in 1867.
Judge Aiken's second wife was Mary Means Appleton, who was the older sister of Franklin Pierce's wife Jane. The Pierce family spent their Christmas holidays in Andover in 1856, a month after Pierce was elected President. It was on a fateful train trip from Andover to Washington that the Pierce's only surviving child, their 11 year old son Bennie, was tragically killed in a train derailment accident near the Almshouse in Frye Village on January 6, 1853. Benny's body was brought back to this house and the funeral held there on January 10, officiated by their minister from Concord, N.H. Bennie's school mates served as his pall bearers.
Despite such an unhappy memory associated with the house, during President Pierce's term in office from 1853 to 1857 he vacationed here. He also attended the house after his Presidency, including a visit in 1861 to addressed Andoverites at a Civil War Rally. During Pierce's Presidency, the home served as his "Summer White House" and his administrative staff stayed across the street at a home at 47 Central St., the home of Samuel Abbot.
Pierce and Reverend Calvin Stowe, husband of Harriet Beecher Stowe, were close friends from their days at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. The Stowes lived in Andover from 1852 to 1864, a period which spanned Pierce's presidency. Reverend Stowe taught at the Andover Theological Seminary. This friendship became strained however after Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act which allowed for the possibility of slavery in the territory, nullifying the Missouri Compromise and supporting pro-slavery forces in Kansas. This led to a drection from Harrier Beecher Stowe that Pierce was not allowed in her home in Andover.
When Jane became First Lady of the White House on March 4, 1853, the death of her only surviving child let to an intense grief that stayed with her for the rest of her life. She always dressed in black while in the White House. She believed the God had caused her son's death as punishment for her husband's vain political ambitions. Jane Pierce never recovered emotionally from her son's death, She died at the Andover home on December 22, 1863 at the age of 57. Her funeral also took place at this house.
According to the Andover Historical Society, it is not known who the original builder of the home was, only that the house was built sometime before 1849, when Judge John Aiken moved into the large home. Judge Aiken served as the local agent for a number of manufacturing companies, including the Appleton Manufacturing Company. Franklin Pierce was married to Jane Means Appleton. He was also the President of Phillips Academy and of the Andover Seminary Trustees, and he lived in Andover until his death in 1867.
Judge Aiken's second wife was Mary Means Appleton, who was the older sister of Franklin Pierce's wife Jane. The Pierce family spent their Christmas holidays in Andover in 1856, a month after Pierce was elected President. It was on a fateful train trip from Andover to Washington that the Pierce's only surviving child, their 11 year old son Bennie, was tragically killed in a train derailment accident near the Almshouse in Frye Village on January 6, 1853. Benny's body was brought back to this house and the funeral held there on January 10, officiated by their minister from Concord, N.H. Bennie's school mates served as his pall bearers.
Despite such an unhappy memory associated with the house, during President Pierce's term in office from 1853 to 1857 he vacationed here. He also attended the house after his Presidency, including a visit in 1861 to addressed Andoverites at a Civil War Rally. During Pierce's Presidency, the home served as his "Summer White House" and his administrative staff stayed across the street at a home at 47 Central St., the home of Samuel Abbot.
Pierce and Reverend Calvin Stowe, husband of Harriet Beecher Stowe, were close friends from their days at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. The Stowes lived in Andover from 1852 to 1864, a period which spanned Pierce's presidency. Reverend Stowe taught at the Andover Theological Seminary. This friendship became strained however after Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act which allowed for the possibility of slavery in the territory, nullifying the Missouri Compromise and supporting pro-slavery forces in Kansas. This led to a drection from Harrier Beecher Stowe that Pierce was not allowed in her home in Andover.
When Jane became First Lady of the White House on March 4, 1853, the death of her only surviving child let to an intense grief that stayed with her for the rest of her life. She always dressed in black while in the White House. She believed the God had caused her son's death as punishment for her husband's vain political ambitions. Jane Pierce never recovered emotionally from her son's death, She died at the Andover home on December 22, 1863 at the age of 57. Her funeral also took place at this house.