“It’s good to see you’ve returned for another ‘Hail to the Chief’ post.”
“This post features the life and times of our 14th President – who was not only one of America’s most-handsome Presidents…”
“…Franklin Pierce was also America’s saddest Presidents.”
FRANKLIN PIERCE BIRTHSITE – “Franklin Pierce was born in a log cabin on November 23, 1804 in Hillsboro, New Hampshire along the shore of the Contoocook River.In 1926, the river was dammed to create a reservoir, which covered the birthplace cabin forever under Franklin Pierce Lake.”
FRANKLIN PIERCE HOMESTEAD – Built in 1804 by Benjamin Pierce, this two-story home was constructed on the Pierce property roughly one-half mile from where the future President was born in Hillsboro, New Hampshire.
“Franklin grew up in this spacious house where he was a robust and devilish youngster, quick to either fight someone or pull a prank on them.I bet he didn’t stand on this fence post!”
“As I stood at the entrance to the home’s western front door, I envisioned young Franklin running past me as he played a prank on one of his friends in the front yard.”
“For thirty years following his birth, Franklin lived in this house; with the exception of the seven years he was away from Hillsboro, either at college or studying law.”
“After Pierce married Jane Appleton on November 19, 1834, the newlyweds moved out of the house and moved to Concord, New Hampshire. The sudden move out of his father’s home was accelerated by Jane’s dislike for Hillsboro.”
NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE HOUSE – Located in Concord, New Hampshire, and built between 1816 and 1819, it’s the oldest state house in continuous use in the United States.
“After campaigning hard in the Hillsboro district for Andrew Jackson during the 1828 election, Democrat Franklin Pierce was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives the same year. He was sworn into office on January 7, 1829 while his father, Benjamin, was Governor of New Hampshire.”
“Two years after being elected to represent Hillsboro district, the Jacksonian Democrat was elected as Speaker of the House where he banged the gavel from 1831 until he left office on January 2, 1833.”
JANE APPLETON – On November 19, 1834, 28-year-old Jane Appleton married Franklin Pierce, 29, at the home of Jane’s maternal grandparents in Amherst, New Hampshire. After the small wedding, which was conducted by her brother-in-law Reverend Silas Aiken, the couple honeymooned six days at a boarding house near Washington D.C.
UNITED STATES CAPITOL – “The hard-working Franklin Pierce left New Hampshire behind after he was elected to the United States House of Representatives. Pierce was sworn-in to office on March 4, 1833.Pierce was only 32 years old, and his political ambitions didn’t stop in the House. In 1836, Franklin was elected to the United States Senate where he served from March 4, 1837 until February 28, 1842.”
PIERCE MANSE – Located in Concord, New Hampshire, Franklin and Jane Pierce owned this home from 1842 to 1848 – just four years before Pierce was elected as the 14th President of the United States.
“Franklin and Jane Pierce bought this house after Jane persuaded her husband to resign his seat in the U.S. Senate.”
“Pierce Manse was threatened with demolition in 1971, but a group of locals known as the ‘Pierce Brigade’ saved the house and had it moved to its present location.”
“During my first visit to the Manse in 2017, the ‘Pierce Brigade’ refused to allow me to pose for interior photos. Thankfully my photographer talked the guide into changing the rule for us in 2023. Let’s take a look inside the world of Franklin Pierce.”
“I’m standing in the Parlor, with the Dining Room in the background. The sofa below the portrait of President Pierce belonged to Jane and was used in their White House living quarters. The table alongside me was also used in the White House by the Pierce’s.”
“The portrait above the Parlor’s fireplace was Franklin’s father, Benjamin Pierce. As a soldier in the Revolutionary War, Benjamin was present at the Battle of Bunker Hill. In 1827, the elder Pierce was elected as New Hampshire’s 11th Governor.”
“President Pierce used this small writing desk in the White House. I wanted to stand on that desk, but my photographer didn’t want to jeopardize the trust with our guide.”
“I’m standing alongside the original bed used by Bennie Pierce in his upstairs bedroom. Less than five years after Bennie last slept in this bed, he was tragically killed at the age of 11 outside of Andover, Massachusetts.”
“The Master Bedroom in the Manse was where Franklin and Jane slept. Unfortunately, this was not their original bed, but it has been reputed to be a bed from the house next to the Pierce’s when they lived in this home.”
“The painting above the Master Bedroom fireplace was of Frank Robert Pierce who died in this very room on November 14, 1843. It’s unimaginable how grief-stricken Franklin and Jane must’ve been when they lost their little four-year-old Frankie.”
“There was a timeless reflection of me as I posed near the shaving kit used by President Franklin Pierce. The President was known as “Handsome Frank” and he looked in this very mirror when he shaved.”
“Four years after Franklin Pierce walked out of the door behind me, he walked through the front door of the White House – much to the chagrin of his wife Jane.”
PIERCE LAW OFFICE – Franklin Pierce was admitted to the New Hampshire bar in late 1827 and practiced law in Hillsboro and Concord. This building, which now hosts the firm Gallagher, Callahan, and Gartell, also served as Pierce’s law office during his time in Concord.
“Pierce was a very good attorney, and was known for his diplomatic personality, eloquence, and he possessed an excellent memory – all which he used to his advantage in a court of law.”
JOHN AIKEN HOMESTEAD – “Franklin Pierce used his brother-in-law’s Andover, Massachusetts home as his Summer White House.President-elect Pierce, his wife Jane, and their 11-year-old son left this house and were traveling to Concord by train on January 6, 1853. The train derailed a few minutes from Andover, killing Bennie. This house was the site of the boy’s funeral.”
“Franklin and Jane Pierce suffered from depression after the death of their son Bennie, pictured here. Jane became a recluse at the White House; while Franklin drank heavily – the loss of his son had a very adverse effect on his Presidency.”
“The Pierce’s were in this home when Jane died of tuberculosis on December 22, 1863; and like her son Bennie, Jane’s funeral was held in this home as well.”
EAGLE HOTEL – “Built in 1851 as a four-story hotel located directly across the street from New Hampshire’s State House, the Eagle Hotel was where President-elect Franklin Pierce spent the night before he departed Concord for his inauguration in Washington D.C.Still mourning the death of her son Bennie, Jane Pierce did not go to Washington with Franklin, nor did she attend Pierce’s inauguration.”
UNITED STATES CAPITOL – “Franklin Pierce was inaugurated on the East Portico of the U.S. Capitol on March 4, 1853. Franklin was depressed from his son’s tragic death and his wife, Jane, stayed home in Concord and didn’t attend the inauguration.Pierce was 49 years old when he took the Oath of Office and was the youngest President in history to that point. He was also the first to deliver his entire inaugural address from memory.”
THE WHITE HOUSE – “Pierce’s Presidency had turned disastrous when he supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act that replaced the Missouri Compromise and slavery became a larger issue in the country, especially when he continued to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act.During his one term in office, the nation slid closer to Civil War. Bennie’s death had an adverse effect on Pierce’s Presidency, which caused Franklin to begin drinking heavily.”
JANE PIERCE – For nearly two years, First Lady Jane Pierce remained in the upstairs living quarters of the White House and wrote letters to her son Bennie. At one point, she attempted to contact her son through a séance. Jane made her first official appearance as First Lady at a New Year’s Day reception in 1855 and thereafter served as White House hostess periodically.
“I’m standing next to a shirt worn by Franklin Pierce when he was President. The shirt’s collar would have been starched and worn upright.”
THE PIERCE MANSION SITE – Located on South Main Street in Concord, New Hampshire; this was the site of a three-story mansion where Franklin and Jane Pierce lived on and off as boarders of Willard Williams after they left the White House in 1857.
“Unfortunately, the house burned down in 1981, leaving only the front steps as a reminder of where our 14th President had lived.”
“An angry mob gathered outside of this house in April 1865 when Pierce did not fly an American flag in memoriam to Abraham Lincoln after the assassination.”
“Following years of heavy drinking, mostly to battle the depression from his son’s death, Pierce died at this site from cirrhosis of the liver at 4:35am on October 8, 1869.”
“In 1981, the Franklin Pierce home burned down; leaving only the front steps to remind us of where the “saddest President in history” lived and died.”
NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE HOUSE – After his death, Pierce’s body laid in state in the New Hampshire State House on October 10-11, 1869.
“Since the State House has no Rotunda, it’s believed the Hall of Flags, where I’m standing in this image, was where President Franklin Pierce laid in state.”
ST. PAUL’S CHURCH – “Located in Concord and built in 1838 across the street from the State House, St. Paul’s Church was where the funeral services for Franklin Pierce were held on October 11, 1869.Pierce had left his Congregational denomination and joined Jane’s Episcopalian church because he felt they left politics out of the sermons.As a matter of fact, on the second anniversary of Jane Pierce’s death, which was December 2, 1865, the former President was baptized at St. Paul’s.”
“I’m standing in the area where President Pierce’s casket likely would’ve been placed during his funeral.However, a fire in 1984 destroyed most of the church’s interior and it likely looked different in 1869.”
“I’m standing in the Franklin Pierce pew inside St. Paul’s Church.”
“During my time inside St. Paul’s, I wondered if this baptismal font was used during Franklin Pierce’s baptism on December 2, 1865.“
OLD NORTH CEMETERY – “Following Franklin Pierce’s death, the President was buried next to his wife Jane, and his two sons Frank and Bennie, in Old North Cemetery, located in Concord, New Hampshire.“
“During my time at the final resting place of President Pierce, I couldn’t help but feel sadness for his two sons who were buried there as well.”
“Frank Robert Pierce died from typhus at age four on November 14, 1843. Benjamin Pierce was tragically killed at age 11 during a train accident on January 6, 1853.The Pierce’s also lost a son, Franklin Pierce, Jr., on February 5, 1836 – only three days after his birth. When Franklin Pierce died on October 8, 1869, and was buried here just three days later next to his wife, he was no doubt the “Saddest President in History”.
“That’s my photographer posing at the final resting place of Franklin Pierce.”
“When Tom and I finally made it to the grave of Franklin Pierce on July 11, 2017, it was the 24th Presidential gravesite the two of us had visited together.”
“The two of us returned with Bob Moldenhauer for our second and final visit to date on June 7, 2023.”
“When this statue of Franklin Pierce was dedicated on November 25, 1914, Republicans made sure it had been erected at the very edge of the State House lawn.”
“Even though the citizens of Concord didn’t appreciate their native son after he left the White House, I was honored to stand on the statue dedicated to the life, legacy, and public service of President Franklin Pierce.”
“Did that post leave a tear in your eye? Mine either, although I did shed a resin tear at the cemetery in Concord. I hope you learned a little about our 14th President and I sincerely hope you check out the other posts dedicated to our Presidents.”
My name is Thomas Watson and I've been a U.S. history fanatic since I was 9 years old. In 2013, I decided to take my passion to the next level when I purchased a Thomas Jefferson bobble head with the sole intention of photographing that bobble head at Presidential sites. From that first day on July 10, 2013 at Spiegel Grove in Fremont, Ohio, this journey has taken on a life of its own. Now, nearly 40,000 miles later, I thought it was time to share the experiences, stories, and photos of Jefferson's travels. Keep in mind, this entire venture has been done with the deepest respect for the men who held the office as our President; no matter what their political affiliations, personal ambitions, or public scandals may have been. This blog is intended to be a true tribute to the Presidents of the United States and this story will be told Through the Eyes of Jefferson. I hope you enjoy the ride!
