Coordinates: 42°31′22″N 70°54′0″W

Peirce–Nichols House
The Peirce–Nichols House is a historic house museum located at
Peirce–Nichols House
80 Federal Street in Salem, Massachusetts. Designed early in the
career of noted Salem builder Samuel McIntire (1757–1811), and U.S. National Register of Historic
modified later by him, the building gives a unique view into the Places
methods and styles of McIntire. It was designated a National U.S. National Historic Landmark
Historic Landmark in 1973 for its significance as an early
masterwork of one of the country's first recognized master U.S. Historic district
builders. It is now owned by the Peabody Essex Museum. Contributing property

Contents
History
Description
See also
References
External links

History
Jerathmiel Peirce (1747–1827), began his career as a leather
dresser. In about 1778, he formed a partnership with Aaron Waite,
and purchased a two-gun schooner, the Greyhound, to serve as a
privateer against British merchant vessels in the Revolutionary
War. The partnership prospered, and over the next half a century,
purchased/built at least 10 vessels, sending them to ports around
the world. In 2000, the National Park Service had a full-scale
replica of one of the Waite & Peirce ships built, the Friendship of
Salem, which is the centerpiece of Salem Maritime National
Historic Site. Waite and Peirce were also major investors in the
newly incorporated Beverly Bank, and were members of Salem's
merchant aristocracy. Salem was a major center of trade in the
early 1800s, and as a result of this, was the home of America's first Location Salem,
millionaire, and on a per-capita basis, was the richest city in
Massachusetts
America. Peirce went from humble beginnings to owning one of
the finest homes in Salem.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Coordinates 42°31′22″N
70°54′0″W
In 1779, Peirce purchased a large lot in Salem, and in about 1782, Built 1782
he engaged Samuel McIntire to design and build his home
Architect McIntire,
there.[9][10] The property he owned went all the way to the banks
of the North River, where his ships tied up and he had a counting Samuel
house.[11] The house is known to have been completed by 1784, Architectural style Georgian,
when city tax records show Peirce being assessed for a completed Federalist
house. Peirce later suffered financial misfortune and was forced to
 sell the house.[11] It was Part of Chestnut Street
purchased by friends, District
who willed it to the (ID73000312 (ht
children of George and tps://npgallery.n
Sally (Peirce) Nichols. ps.gov/AssetDet
The house remained in
ail/NRIS/730003
the Nichols family until
12))
1917, when it was sold to
the Essex Institute,[12] NRHP reference No. 68000041 (http
Interior of the Peirce–Nichols House. predecessor to the s://npgallery.np
McIntire did many of the fine
Peabody Essex Museum. s.gov/AssetDetai
woodworking details himself.
It was opened to the l/NRIS/6800004
public in the late 1930s 1)[1]
after the last of the
Significant dates
Nichols owners died.
Added to NRHP November 24,
McIntire patterned the design of the house fairly closely on 1968
patterns found in the Builder's Treasury of Batty Langley,
Designated NHL November 24,
published in 1740. As a result, the house has late Georgian
1968
styling.[13] This was altered in some portions in 1801, when
Peirce again hired McIntire to redo the hallway east parlor in Designated CP August 28, 1973
preparation for the wedding of his daughter Sally to George
Nichols. This area features the lighter Federal styling that was being
popularized by architect Charles Bulfinch.[12][9]

The house property was

declared a National Historic
Landmark in 1968,[1] cited as
a particularly elegant example
of late Georgian
craftsmanship, and for its
association with McIntire.[13]
It is also a contributing
element of Salem's Chestnut
Street District.[12] The
View from the side (HABS photo,
1940)
Peabody Essex Museum
offers tours of the house.

Description
The Friendship of Salem
The Peirce–Nichols House is a three-story wood-frame building
sheathed in clapboards. It has a low pitch hipped roof that is encircled
by a low balustrade at the cornice, which further has a central flat section that functions as a roof deck and is
also surrounded by a balustrade. The corners of the building are decorated by fluted Doric pilasters rising the
height of the building. The front entry is in the center bay (of five), and is sheltered by a pedimented porch
supported by Doric columns set on a brownstone step. Large twin chimneys rise through the interior of the
house. The windows on the first two floors feature 6 over 6 sashes, while the third floor has typical
foreshortened 3 over 6 sashes.[12]

Behind the house is a carriage house which is thought to date from the same time as the house. Its symmetrical
front facade is divided into three sections, the center one featuring a projecting triangular pediment. The
flanking sections are also pedimented, and are punctuated by round arched openings topped by keystones.[12]
See also
List of historic houses in Massachusetts
List of National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places listings in Salem, Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places listings in Essex County, Massachusetts

References
1. "National Register Information System" (https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP). National Register of
Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
2. Frayler, John (September 1999). Partners for Eternity - Pickled Fish and Salted Provisions:
Historical Musings from Salem Maritime NHS (https://www.nps.gov/sama/learn/historyculture/u
pload/Vol1no7Partners.pdf) (PDF). I, No. 7. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
3. Pulsifer, Susan Farley Nichols (1967). Witch's Breed: The Peirce-Nichols Family of Salem (http
s://archive.org/details/witchsbreedpeirc00puls). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Dresser, Chapman
& Grimes. pp. 44 (https://archive.org/details/witchsbreedpeirc00puls/page/44)-7, 54–6, 197–8,
202–3, 256–7, 379–83, 398–401, 403–6, 418–9.
4. Ward, Gerald W. R. The Peirce-Nichols House, pp. 6-8, Essex Institute, Salem, Massachusetts,
1976.
5. Frayler, John. Friendship: The World of a Salem East Indiaman, 1797–1813, pp.7-8, Eastern
National, 1998.
6. "Sarah Peirce Nichols Takes the Walking Cure" (http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/s
arah-peirce-nichols-takes-walking-cure/). New England Historical Society. Retrieved
September 18, 2017.
7. "Friendship of Salem" (http://www.nps.gov/sama/planyourvisit/upload/friendship2007a.pdf)
(PDF). National Park Service. 2007.
8. Hurd, Duane Hamilton. History of Essex County, Massachusetts, pp. 69, 72, vol. 1, J. W. Lewis
& Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1888.
9. Nichols, George. Nichols, Martha, ed. Salem Shipmaster and Merchant: The Autobiography of
George Nichols, pp. 12, 99, 104, The Four Seas Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 1921.
10. Frayler, John (September 1999). Partners for Eternity - Pickled Fish and Salted Provisions:
Historical Musings from Salem Maritime NHS (https://www.nps.gov/sama/learn/historyculture/u
pload/Vol1no7Partners.pdf) (PDF). I, No. 7. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
11. Nichols, George. Nichols, Martha, ed. Salem Shipmaster and Merchant: The Autobiography of
George Nichols, pp. 62-3, 103, 115, The Four Seas Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 1921.
12. "MACRIS inventory record for Peirce–Nichols House" (http://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcI
d=SAL.1645). Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
13. "NRHP nomination for Peirce–Nichols House" (https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHL
S/68000041_text). National Park Service. Retrieved 2014-12-09.

External links
PEM historic houses (https://web.archive.org/web/20121018012910/http://pem.org/visit/historic
_houses)

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This page was last edited on 2 May 2021, at 18:51 (UTC).

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