Franklin Pierce Manse, New Hampshire

In 1838, Franklin Pierce, who would become the 14^th president of the USA, and his wife moved from Hillsborough to Concord, 20 miles away, and bought a Greek Revival-style house at 18 Montgomery Street, where they lived from 1842 to 1848. In the late 1960s, the Housing Authority wanted the land as part of an aggressive urban renewal plan for downtown Concord, and the house was initially considered to not have enough historical value to be saved. The Pierce house was moved to a new location, in a designated “historic area,” in 1971. The historical organization known as the Pierce Brigade continued to raise money to restore the house at its new location, and turn it into a museum celebrating Franklin Pierce, the only president from New Hampshire. The house is open to the public seasonally, and has displays about Pierce, as well as restored period rooms, and a gift shop. Though the relocated and preserved “manse” was the only house he ever owned in town, the principal events in his life occurred elsewhere, particularly at a house he lived in at 52 South Main Street, which is no longer there