Pierce Homestead
Franklin Pierce Homestead
Lady Blue Parked In Driveway Of Franklin Pierce Homestead. Red Building Is The Barn And Visitor Center. Yellow Building To The Left Is The Homestead
Front Of Franklin Pierce Homestead. Large Beautiful House Front Is Yellow And The Back Is Red Because Red Paint Was Cheaper. This Is True Through Out The Area.
Back Of House Is Red
Statue Of Franklin Pierce
Beautiful Sleigh Just Right For New Hampshire Winters
Franklin Pierce Homestead
Voter Registration Showing Benjamin And Franklin Registered To Vote
Kitchen, Fire Place For Cooking, Work Table Note The Old Iron Which
Would Be Heated By Fireplace Then Used. Plenty Of Cabinet Space.
Another View Of The Kitchen
Dining Room, Large Windows, Table, Fireplace. Note The Orange Paint And The
Stenciling
Dining Room Table And Cabinet
Ball Room. Room Is Full Width Of The House. Dances And Meetings Were Held Here. Note The Brilliant Colors And Stenciling. The Original Stenciling Was In Good Shape And They Were Able To Have It Duplicated So Accurately That It Is Thought To Be The Best In The Nation.
Another View Of Ball Room
Rope Bed At Opposite End Of Ball Room. Ropes Run Side To Side And Head To Foot
At The Foot Of The Bed There Is A Tool With Which You Can Tighten The Ropes For Proper Support.
Franklin Pierce Chair. Typically The Men Wore Very Tight Fitting Pants And A
Sword So They Sat On He Very Front Edge Of The Chair.
Large Piece Of Furniture
Parlor Room. Very Luxurious Table Settings And Wall Paper
China On Table Piano In Back Ground
Beautiful Original Wall Paper Brought From France In 1824 And Depicts Scenes From Bay Of Naples
It Took 5 Or 6 Rolls To Cover The Room From The Chair Rail To The Ceiling. The Paper Is 170 Years Old.The Next Few Photographs Are Of the Wall Paper
Wall Paper
Wall Paper
Wall Paper Scene
Wall Paper Scene
Wall Paper Scene
Wall Paper Scene
Spinning Wheel
Master Bedroom
Double Exposure I Don't Know Why But This Is The Girls Bedroom And Canopy Bed. Note The Bright Yellow Walls. Franklin's Father Would Bring Poor Destitute Girls Whose Families Could Not Support Them Down Out Of The Mountains And Let Them Live In His Home. They Stayed Basically In The Same Room As His Own Girls And They Were Treated Like Family.
Toys In Girls Room
Cellar With Access By Stairs From The First Floor And Was Located Under The Kitchen. There Was An Outside Entry With A Sloping Walkway Through Which Barrels Could Be Rolled And Boxes Carried Into The Basement. Franklin's Father Operated A Tavern In The House.
Stone Bridge
Stone Fences
Looking Out Over The Fields At Hills And Mountains
Voter Registration Showing Benjamin And Franklin Registered To Vote
Would Be Heated By Fireplace Then Used. Plenty Of Cabinet Space.
Another View Of The Kitchen
Stenciling
At The Foot Of The Bed There Is A Tool With Which You Can Tighten The Ropes For Proper Support.
Sword So They Sat On He Very Front Edge Of The Chair.
It Took 5 Or 6 Rolls To Cover The Room From The Chair Rail To The Ceiling. The Paper Is 170 Years Old.The Next Few Photographs Are Of the Wall Paper
Jefferson Davis And His Wife Were Close Friends Of Franklin & Jane And This Friendship Cost Franklin Dearly
Nathanial Hawthorne Was A Close Friend Of Franklin's And Visited Often During Summers
I want to expand a little on some of the comment under the above photographs and perhaps interject some new thoughts about Franklin's life and I might repeat some particulars but bear with me. Concerning the children of Franklin and Jane. When Franklin was in Congress his first son was born in New Hampshire. A telegram was sent to him telling him of the birth of a boy and 2 or 3 days later a telegram was sent to him saying the baby had died. Another boy was born to them and this boy died at the age of 4 1/2 of typhus. As noted above the 3rd son Benjamin was killed at the age of 14 in a train wreck.
Concerning the friendship Of Franklin and Jane with Jefferson Davis that cost him so much.The problem was that Davis ending up fighting for the Confederacy. Many people blamed Franklin for the loss of so many lives. One of the admirable traits of Franklin was if you were his friend you were his friend always no matter what others thought.
Another friend of Franklin was Nathan Hawthorne and when they attended college together they became very close. Hawthorne came to visit Franklin several summers however the length of these visits is not known. It is known that Hawthorne was very sickly and Franklin at his own expense took him up to the mountains for his health and the good air. They went as far as Plymouth, New Hampshire where Hawthorne died,
This house was built by Franklin's father and originally it served as a tavern and home at the same time. People came from all around to drink and discuss politics, weather, and whatever else they wanted to discuss. Often political and military leaders came to talk to Franklin's father. Many of these visitors had been in the Indian wars and the Revolutionary war and almost always these visitors ended up telling war stories and singing war songs. This was heaven for young Franklin who listened and soaked it all in until he would be told to leave the room. Of course the room was the large room upstairs known as the Ball Room the things young Franklin heard is bound to have had an influence on him.
As you approach the area the first house on the corner is the house Franklin's father gave to his daughter ( Elizabeth ) and her husband Tom McNeil. Next house is the Pierce Homestead.
Home of Tom & Elizabeth McNeil
All of the land in this area was farm land back in the time of Franklin's father but now is mostly forested. Franklin was born 1804 in a house that no longer exists in Hillsborough, New Hampshire just a few miles from the homestead. The homestead house was built in 1787 when Benjamin Pierce ( Franklin's father ) came to Hillsborough.
Franklin went to a school not to distant from the homestead. He loved the area, nature, woods and the streams. Following is a photograph of a rock bridge that was a wood bridge when Franklin was a child and would have walked across. It can be assumed that young Franklin may have stopped and played on the rocks around the beautiful stream.
Stone Bridge
Water Flows Over Large Boulders
At the age of 12 Franklin went to high school in Hancock, New Hampshire 14 miles away so he had to board. The current house of the Hancock Historic Society was then home of the Henry Cumming, Founder of the academy Franklin was attending.
Hancock Historical Society
Hancock, New Hampshire is a beautiful town. I never know whether to call these locations " towns", " villages " or what so town it will be. The Hancock Inn was built in 1789 and is still in use today. It supposedly is the oldest Inn in New Hampshire.
The Hancock Inn
Hancock was a much larger town than Hillsborough and is mostly in tact today which is unusual for towns like this because most of the beautiful old buildings are gone but not so for Hancock. It is reportedly the best preserved town in New Hampshire.
After Hancock Franklin moved to a school in Francestown, New Hampshire where he stayed in the house of Peter Woodberry. This house was about the size and style of his fathers. Franklin studied here for 1 semester. While here he became friends with Levi Woodberry who lived 1789 - 1851 and was born in Francestown. Levi was older than Franklin and had a positive influence on him. Levi went on to serve in the state legislature, Judge, Governor, U.S. Senator, Secretary of Navy, Secretary of Treasury, and US Supreme Court. His record of public service has been unmatched by any other New Hampshire citizen. Franklin's father had been a positive influence on Levi and it is thought that Levi was in a way repaying this by being a positive influence on young Franklin.
Francestown
In school Franklin went through several changes . It is reported at first that he was afraid and ran off to go home. Later he became rather mischievous in breaking into other students rooms and messing thing up Many of these room were in other peoples homes and they were out looking for Franklin. It is said that when he left for another school that some folks were glad.
Next he went to Bowdoin College where at first he was not a very good student. It appears he was a party animal and did not apply himself to his studies. Some people at the college recognized his potential and had a heart to heart talk with him and by the time he graduated he was 3rd in his class. After graduation from Bowdoin he did not attend school again. He came back to Hillsborough and set up a law office across the street from the homestead in a barn built by his father.
Barn Which Housed Franklin's First Law Office
At this time his father was Governor of New Hampshire and Franklin entered the political arena. His father owned a graphite mine in Goshen and his father sent him to check on things. His frequent trips gave him the opportunity to travel through many small towns and talk to people. One such town was Washington Center New Hampshire where his father owned a lot of land and he was sent there to check on the status of the farms. In Washington Center was the Faxon House which was built in 1790. The Faxons were friends of Franklin's father and he no doubt spent time there. This house is thought to be a model for the Pierce Homestead.
Faxon House
Front Entrance Of Faxon House
Faxon House
Franklin's law practice is going well and he has an office in a newer building he bought from his brother in law John McNeil. His father helped make it larger and he fixed it up. He later married Jane and brought her to live in the house but she did not like Hillsborough. She thought the area was a little to rustic. After 4 years they sold the house and moved to Concord, New Hampshire.
Franklin's Second Law Office
Franklin And Jane's Hillsborough Home
The area around Hillsborough is hilly to say the least and beautiful. Originally only the hill tops were cleared of timber because the soil was shallow and the stumps were easy to remove. Of course the shallow soil did not support agriculture very long and the trees took over again. At the earlier time the view from these hilltops was spectacular. Even with this being said many of the areas today look much like they did in Franklin's time. The following photos are of photos showing some of the grand old houses rock fences, narrow roads, rock bridges and hills. Note some of the beautiful fall colors.
Beautiful Old Buildings
Next we will look at the cemetery where Franklin is buried and The Pierce Manse House and the meeting up with Jim and his buddies as they come off the Appalachian Trail for a nights rest and resupply. Until then remember that God Loves you and so do I.
Grandpa Bill
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