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NPS Form 10-900 (Rev. 10-90) OMB No. 1024-0018 RECEIVED 2280 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service - 7 1997 National Register of Historic Places Registration Form NAT. REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES NATIONAL PARK SERVICE This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form (National Register Bulletin 16A). Complete each item by marking "x" in the appropriate box or by entering the information requested. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions.
Place additional entries and narrative items on continuation sheets (NPS Form 10-900a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all items. 1. Name of Property historic name Edward Peirce House/Henderson House of Northeastern University other names/site number Henderson House of Northeastern University 2. Location street & number_ 99 Westcliff Road -N/A not for publication city or town Weston _N/A vicinity state Massachusetts codeMA county_Middlesex _code_017zip code- 02193 3. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the NationalHistoric Preservation Act of 1986, as amended, I hereby certify that this nomination -request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60.
In my opinion, the property Xmeets does not meetthe National Register Criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant nationally - statewide locally. (See continuation sheet for additional comments.) ndik B. MuDonona Signature of certifying officia/Title Judith B. McDonough, Executive Director 63097 Massachusetts Historical Commission, State Historic Preservation Office State or Federal agency and bureau In my opinion,the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria. ( See continuation sheet for additional Comments.) Signature of certifying official/Title Date State or Federal agency and bureau 4. National Park Service Certification 1, hereby certify that this property is: Mentered in the National Register - See continuation sheet. - determined eligible for the National Register - See continuation sheet.
- determined not eligible for the National Register - removed from the National Register - other (explain): of the Keeper ratuck Andu Date of Action 8/19/97 Edward Peirce House Name of Property 5. Classification Ownership of Property (Check as many boxes as apply) Category of Property (Check only one box) X private - public-local _ public-State _ public-Federal - building(s) district - Site _ structure _ object *system of stone walls around the house is counted as a structure Name of related multiple property listing (Enter "N/A" if property is not part ofa multiple property listing.) N/A 6.
Function or Use Historic Functions (Enter categories from instructions) DOMESTIC: single dwelling, mansion Middlesex, MA County and State Number of Resources within Property (Do not include previously listed resources in the count.) Contributing Noncontributing 1 1 buildings sites structures objects 2 Total Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register Current Functions (Enter categories from instructions) EDUCATION: education-related, conference center 7.
Description Architectural Classification (Enter categories from instructions) TUDOR REVIVAL Materials (Enter categories from instructions) foundation Stone walls Stone Stucco roof Slate other Narrative Description (Describe the historic and current condition of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number. Page. OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Edward Peirce House Weston, (Middlesex County) Massachusetts 7. DESCRIPTION The Edward R. Peirce House (1925-7), is a large, well-detailed frame Tudor Revival estate mansion designed by the nationally-known Boston architectural firm of Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch and Abbott. Now called Henderson House, the building is owned by Northeastern University and used as a conference center.
The 2 ½ story hip-roofed house has a modified rectangular plan. hip roof, and stone. The foundation and lower story, as well as the porte cochere and porches are constructed of stone, the second floor and gables are half-timbered, and the roof is slate. The house is in excellent condition and has had few alterations since its construction. The interior is Colonial Revival in style and includes woodwork and built-in features which have been remarkably well preserved. The Peirce House is located in Weston, Massachusetts, an affluent suburban community 12 miles west of Boston. Most houses in the immediate neighborhood were built in the 1960's on winding roads laid out within the extensive property which once belonged to the Peirce estate. These one- and two-story Colonial Revival and contemporary houses are set back at least 70' on one-to-two acre wooded lots.
The Peirce House is located ona parcel of nearly6acres, with over 700 feetofstreet frontagealong Westcliff Road. Especially notable on the property are areas of exposed rock ledge and large boulders. The house faces north and is dramatically sited on a rock ledge which is the topographical high point of the area and allows for panoramic views, especially to the south. Because of the topography, mature trees, and 120' setback, the house is not easily visible from the street and is set apart from the neighboring houses. The driveway enters from the street onto a paved parking lot, continues up the hill, branches off to a second paved parking lot behind the house and then circles around the front and through the porte-cochere. Just north of the circular drive and south of the rear parking lot, the property is wooded and the grade falls off sharply.
The landscape treatment includes mature trees, young flowering trees and simple plantings, all well maintained. There are no outbuildings on the property. Two of the original Peirce estate outbuildings remain in the neighborhood, where they have been remodelled and incorporated as part of newer homes. The principal, north-facing facade can be divided visually into three parts: a four-bay east wing which contains the kitchen and service rooms; a central section, with a slightly higher roofline, containing many of the principal living spaces; and a four-bay west wing set at a 45 degree angle from the main block containing the main living room and featuring a one-story stone open porch at the end. Approximately in the center of this asymmetrical arrangement is the impressive stone porte-cochere which marks the main entrance.
The three-part visual arrangement of the north facade is underscored by the use of three front-facing gables, one at each end of the two wings and one at the division point between the service wing and principal living spaces. The wall gable to the left of the porte-cochere is balanced visually by a prominent stone exterior chimney to the right of the entrance. To focus attention on the center, decorative half-timbered patterning is concentrated around the entrance and the most elaborate windows are located here as well. The porte-cochere is built of rock-faced granite blocks of varying sizes set in random rangework pattern. The shape of the blocks and type of stone is more uniform here than the stonework on the body of the house. The porte-cochere is trimmed with gray granite blocks used at the top to form a stepped gable within which is a square block with incised quatrefoil design.
Matching wide elliptical arches are used for the openings on all four sides. A period lamp hangs above the vehicle passageway. Five granite (continued) OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number - Page 2 Edward Peirce House Weston, (Middlesex County) Massachusetts block steps lead to an exterior vestibule with elliptical-arched openings on each side. Originally, both these openings were covered by decorative iron grates, divided into panels ornamented with rosettes and entwined ironwork tendrils.
One of these iron window grates has been removed and the stonework altered to provide for a wheelchair entrance from the driveway, in the space between the exterior vestibule and a stone wall which extends out between the central section and the east service wing. A second exterior light fixture, which also may be original, is located in the exterior vestibule. The massive tront entrance door is constructed using a heavy oak trame,reintorced with iron strapwork, surrounding decorative ironwork panels designed to allow light and air into the interior vestibule. The fifteen iron panels, arranged three across, alternate two designs with central rosettes surrounded by either four rosettes or four leaves. First floor exterior stonework utilizes several types of stone including varieties of granite and brownstone, each with different surface textures and coloring.
The stone is shaped into roughly rectangular and square blocks set in random rangework pattern. Small joints are used between stones, and flat tool marks are visible. The stone is used to form the massive exterior chimney at the right of the porte-cochere. This "shoulder chimney" is graduated in width, beginning with a base that is 15' wide. A plaque bearing the seal of Northeastern University has been placed at the base. A second exterior shoulder chimney with an 8' wide base is found at the west end of the living room wing. Both chimneys have recessed stone panels at the topmost level below the cap. Another important feature of the first story is the one-story stone porch at the end of the living room wing. The stonework here is the same as used on the porte-cochere, and the design is also similar in the use of elliptical arches.
Along the long side, decorative iron railings are used between triple arches. A battlement motif is used along the flat roof. First floor windows are of many types, as the fenestration pattern of the house is asymmetrical and dependent on interior room arrangements. The most elaborate window types are in the central section and west wing. On either side of the large exterior chimney and at the end of the west wing are three-part bay windows formed with three tall, narrow sash. Also used along the central section and west wing are groupings of three windows, each with fixed sash of 32 small panes arranged 4 x 8, above which are decorative tympanums of carved wood leaf pattern which have been painted so that the leaves are picked out in brown against a cream background. Another notable window, located to the left of the porte-cochere, is also three-parts with a segmental arch above.
The first floor treatment of the east (service) wing is different from the rest of the house because of the change in grade, which allows for a ground level basement story at the east end of the house. A high stone wall bordering the driveway in front of the service wing is partly set at an angle echoing the angle of the west wing. Behind this wall the grade talls oft, creating a ground level basement for the service wing opening out onto a basement level patio in the tront hidden trom the main entrance by the wall. There is a door from this patio into the house, but the main service entrance is from the rear (south) facade at the southeast corner. Windows are generally 12/16 in the service wing except for one arched window at the end.
(continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Section number - Page Edward Peirce House Weston, (Middlesex County) Massachusetts On the second floor, the richness of architectural detailing in the central section helps to focus attention here. Between the first and second floors of the central section is a wooden decorative trim band, from which point the second floor projects out slightly from the first floor. Above this band, a series of square half-timbered decorative panels is repeated along most of the central section, forming a decorative band which further emphasizes this section. Second floor windows are most elaborate in the center section, with cut-out trefoil patterns in the upper window frames.
This window type is repeated with a two-part grouping between the porte-cochere and exterior chimney. The central section is further emphasized by a cove cornice at the roofline. Windows in the second floor of the west wing have 8/12 sash. The gables at each end of the house and the wall gable to the left of the porte-cochere are critical to the design of the house, creating a focus for decoration as well as a means of emphasizing the three-part arrangement of east wing, center section and west wing. The half-timbered patterning is different in each of the three front-facing gables. At the peak of the gables is a simple pendant. Heavy bargeboards flair out at the ends and are carved with leaf and quatrefoil designs. A clover design is carved into the wide board between the second story windows and the gable. The roofline is complex.
The hip roof over the center section is higher than the roofline of the east and west wings. The east wing has a gable roof intersecting at the east end with a cross gable. The west wing has a hip roof intersecting at the west end with a cross gable. The roof is covered with green slates of relatively uniform size and thickness. Gutters are copper. Decorative collection boxes can be found on downspouts all along the north and south facades. The house has two paneled stone interior chimneys, located behind the ridge in the service wing and just in front of the ridge, offset-left, in the main section. Dormers echo the appearance of the gables and have flared bargeboards, half-timbering, simple pendants and slate sides. Dormer windows are paired 4/4 sash.
Two front-facing dormers are located in the service wing, two are located in the central section above the porte-cochere with one more to the right of the large shoulder chimney, and two front-facing dormers are located in the west wing, for a total of seven along the north facade. Of these seven, the three in the central section have a more elaborate design, again focusing attention on this part of the house. The south facade of the house is similar to the north facade and is equally elaborate in all window and trim detailing, indicating that it was considered of equal importance. The south side of the east (service) wing has not been painted in recent years and is probably closer in appearance to the original. Here the stucco is an unpainted cream color and designs in the wood trim have not been picked out with paint of contrasting color.
The south facade, like the north, is divided visually into three parts. The east and west wings extend out from a central core dominated by a six-sided one-story stone sunroom with flat roof finished with a crenelated battlement. Along the perimeter of the porch are elliptical arches now enclosed with four-part multi-pane windows or doors, with multi-pane windows in the tympanums as well. On each side of the sunroom are two gable pavilions, different in size, projecting out from the main block of the house. The gable pavilion on the east side of the stone sunroom contains the dining room and features a bank of four (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) OM1B Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number.
Page Edward Peirce House Weston, (Middlesex County) Massachusetts windows along the first floor, all with 32 fixed pane sash arranged 4 x 8, with carved tympanums. Above, on the second floor, is a group of three 12/12 windows enhanced with square half-timbered decorative panels above. The half-timbered gable above, much like those on the north side, has carved bargeboards, a simple pendant, and a four-part window. Drop finials are located at the corners of the gable at the ends of the bargeboards. The gable pavilion on the west side of the stone sunroom contains the morning room and has a second story which projects slightly out from the first story and features a drop finial at the southwest corner. The window treatment is the same as the dining room except that there are only three 32-pane fixed sash windows at level one.
On the west wall of this gable pavilion is another exterior shoulder chimney. The south facade of the west wing features another grouping of three 32-pane fixed sash windows with carved tympanums. Treatment of the second floor and roofareas are similar on both north and south facades. Second floor window types are similar to those found on the north side. Dormers on the south facade are similar in style and arranged with two on the east wing, two in the central section above the porch, and two along thewest wing. The south facade of the east (service) wing is generally a full 3 1/2 stories because the change in grade makes the basement above ground level. The principal entrance to the service wing is located through an arched opening on the last bay of the south side, reached by a flight of stone steps.
Presently, a large metal fire escape is used to provide secondary exits from upper story rooms on the east wing. A massive natural rock ledge is used on the south side to set off the service wing from the main living areas of the house. A stone barbecue fireplace is located in the yard behind the service wing. Around the house, rubble fieldstone walls and retaining walls are used to accommodate the typography of the site and changes in grade level. A stone retaining wall on the north and east side of the house along the driveway and behind the service wing marks the separation between the relatively flat house site and the steep slope down to Westcliff Road. A similar stone wall extends behind the rear parking lot on the south side.
As mentioned earlier, another stone wall is used to set off the service wing on the north facade and on the south facade the same purpose is accomplished with a massive rock boulder. A low stone wall, constructed of large rectangular granite blocks rather than fieldstones, is used to outline a flat grassy terrace on the south side of the house extending from the stone sunroom to the end of the west (living room) wing. South of this wall, the grade falls off sharply, so that the parking lot is at a lower level than the house and therefore less intrusive. No plot plan has yet been found pinpointing the location of the outbuildings on the Pierce estate. It is known that they were located in two main groupings down the hill to the south and east of the main house.
Local residents who remember the outbuildings feel that the garage may have been located on the flat section of land at the southeast corner of the present parcel, at the intersection of what is now Scotch Pine and Westcliff roads. In recent years, part of this area was dug up for the building of a new septic system for Henderson House. At that time, an old license plate was found but no other traces of earlier outbuildings. The landscape treatment of the property includes mature trees interspersed with small flowering trees such as crabapples and magnolias planted in recent years. Notable trees thought to date back to the establishment of the estate at the turn of the century include an unusual variegated leaf tulip tree (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No.
1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number. Page - Edward Peirce House Weston, (Middlesex County) Massachusetts (Lirobendron tulipifera medio-pictum), a large yellowwood tree, a massive purple leaf European beech, and a stand of hemlocks. A large kousa dogwood probably dates to the rebuilding of the house after the 1925 fire. Interior Description The first floor of the Peirce House has five principal rooms, plus the vestibule, kitchen/service wing and three half-bathrooms. The second floor has six principal rooms used for family and guest bedrooms or sitting rooms, along with four bathrooms and several small utility or storage rooms. The third floor was probably used by the statt and contains approximately nine rooms, plus storage areas and two bathrooms.
Interior architectural features, which are Colonial Revival in style, have been preserved largely intact. including fireplace treatments, wall and ceiling trim. The house was redecorated in 1988 for use as the Junior League Decorator Show House. The main entrance door enters into a 10° X 14' vestibule with floor to ceiling raised-field oak paneling and a cove cornice molding. The hanging light fixture may be original. Extending east from the vestibule is a hallway leading to the kitchen, back stairs and other areas used for staff. An elevator to the second floor, originally located off this hall, has been converted to a powder room. A wider opening on the west wall leads into the grand stairhall, now called the "Melvin Lounge" two-story room, 31'9" x 26' 9" , carefully arranged with symmetrical placement of doors and windows.
As in all interior rooms, decoration is Colonial Revival in style. A balcony runs along the second floor perimeter except on the south wall, where the focus is on the dramatic double staircase. The two flights of stairs meet in the center and share the last six steps, which are increasingly wide at the bottom with the last step measuring almost 11' across. The stair and balcony balustrade is decorative ironwork with repeating classical urn shapes and a mahogany railing. Centered above where the staircases join is a triple window grouping on the south wall at second story level, with each fixed pane sash comprised of 32 small panes arranged 4 x 8. Placed on the center of the north wall opposite the staircase is a 1l' wide, 5'7" deep inglenook consisting of two built-in seats extending out on either side of a marble fireplace.
Above the simple classical sand-colored mantle is a leafy carved molding framing the overmantle area. Bay windows on either side of the inglenook have a central fixed panel with panes arranged 3 x 8, flanked by moveable side sash, one-pane wide, arranged 4 over 4. A window seat is built into these two bays. Elsewhere in the room, walls are divided into panels using simple wood moldings typical of the 1920's. At breaks between these panels, the dental cornice is accented with a larger rectangular block with leaf motif. The oval plaster ceiling border is set within a rectangular border with repeating rosette motif. Narrow oak floorboards can be seen here and in other rooms where the floor is not covered by carpeting. The heavy German baroque-style silver-plated chandelier is probably original to the house, as are the paired silver wall sconces on the east and west walls.
Also thought to be date back to the Peirce era are two German-made side tables with matching mirrors above, placed opposite each other in the center of the east and west walls. The wood frames of the tables and mirrors are entirely covered with ornate silverwork. The living room, now called the Carey Room, is 39' 6" x 21' 3" and extends west from the main rectangle of the house at a 45 degree angle, a transition handled on the interior by using a curved wall at the east end of the living room. Like the stair hall, the living room is very symmetrical in plan, with all (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a * (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OMB ApprovalNo. 1024-0018 Section number. Page- Edward Peirce House Weston, (Middlesex County) Massachusetts window and door openings balanced.
The focus is on the fireplace centered on the west wall, where the wide mantle is supported with carved convex pilasters. Both north and south walls have one bay window and one grouping of three fixed sash windows with 32 panes arranged 4 x 8. Placed along the north and south walls are paired shallow, built-in bookcases, 3 1/2 feet high with curved sides, glass doors and decorative carved borders. As in the stair hall, simple moldings are used to divide blank walls into panels. The ceiling is ornamented with a shallow relief rectangular plaster border with palmette design. There are two pairs of period wall sconces on each of the long walls as well as matching electrical candelabra-type fixtures on the fireplace mantle.
A smaller adjoining room, referred to on the original plans as the "writing room" and now called the Mock Room, connects to both the living room and stair hall through double French doors on the east and north walls. This room is almost square, measuring 17' x 16'8" , and features a well-detailed Colonial Revival mantel. Repeated palmette forms are used for the cornice molding. The pairs of wall sconces on the north and south walls are classical in style. The dining room, now called the Tyler Room, measures 28'4" x 17'9" and is reached from a door at the southeast corner of the stair hall. Light streams in from the south through the bank of four large windows, each with fixed sash of 32 panes, arranged 4 x 8. Walls have finely-crafted oak raised field paneling finished at the ceiling with a distinctive cornice carved with a leaf and flower pattern.
On the north wall is a chimney breast with fireplace opening framed with a bolection molding with appears to be plaster painted to simulate marble. Attention is focused on the overmantle, which has a square raised field panel framed with a carved border enhanced with carved festooning above and to the sides. The festooning is exceptionally fine and features fruits, flowers and leaves carved in high relief. On the east wall is a door to the service area, as well as a double casement window. The ceiling is ornamented with a large oval border with a secondary rectangular border around the perimeter of the room. Especially noteworthy is the oval ceiling border, which is formed of plaster fruits, flowers and leaves molded in On the south side of the house is an informal sunroom with stone walls, now called the Bruce Room.
At the time the house was purchased for Northeastern, this room was unheated and had a cement floor and low cement potting benches. The room measures approximately 31'4" x 29'10" in its longest dimensions and is polygonal in shape, with the six-sided portion projecting out to the south. Here the six elliptical-arched openings are enclosed with multi-pane French doors and/or windows which are of recent manufacture but roughly duplicate what was there when Northeastern took over the house. The room can be entered on the north side through two doors leading from the stair hall, on the east side through the dining room, and on the west side from a door to the outside grass terrace. The service area includes a large butler's pantry off the dining room, featuring the original oak cabinets, some with glass doors and some with solid doors, all with original hardware.
The floor is red glazed tile and the counter-top is now formica. A small original bathroom, now the men's Room, has an early sink, glazed rectangular white wall tile up to about 4' high, and small hexagonal white floor tiles. The kitchen retains some original detailing including fluted door molding, corner blocks and a triangular pediment just inside the main service entrance at the southeast corner of the building. The service area also includes a back stairway, closets, a new restroom, and storage areas. (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number .
Page - Edward Peirce House Weston, (Middlesex County) Massachusetts The main second floor bedrooms are reached from the two-story grand stair hall, which has an open hallway/balcony leading to bedrooms at both the east and west ends of the house. The master bedroom, now called the Crockett Room, is located in the west wing of the house above the living room. The master bedroom joins with the room above the morning room, now called the Jones Room, to form a master suite separated by the stair hall from other bedrooms. This master bedroom suite includes a bathroom and dressing areas with built-in clothes storage units. The Crockett Room measures 20' x 23', a smaller dimension than the living room below due to the use of part of the space for storage. On the west wall is a Colonial Revival mantle. A decorative band along the cornice features a rosette and leaf design.
The Jones Room is 16' x 15' with a notable Colonial Revival mantel and overmantle on the west wall. East of the stair hall are four rooms that could have been used as small sitting rooms or guest bedrooms. The principal guest bedroom was probably the present Kerr Room, located at the far east end of the second floor above the kitchen. This room has a Colonial Revival fireplace on the west wall. As with many of the other rooms, wall surfaces are divided into panels. Two cornice moldings and an oval-shaped low relief plaster ceiling molding carry out the classical ornamental themes. The Channing Room, located above the dining room on the south side of the house, measures 15'10' x 18'3" and features a triple window on the south wall. This room does not have a fireplace but does have notable woodwork including pediments over doorways.
Simple moldings divide wall surfaces into panels, and two cornice moldings and a decorative plaster band are used along the perimeter of the ceiling. French doors on the west wall open out to the roof of the Bruce Room. The Eulenberg Room, a small sitting room on the north side of the house, has a chair rail and cove cornice moldings. The present linen room, also on the north side of the hall, was originally a bathroom and has white wall tiles and small hexagonal floor tiles like those found in the men's room on the first floor. The Simonds Room on the south side of the hall is a small bedroom or sitting room with Colonial Revival fireplace featuring bolection molding and an overmantel framed by fluted pilasters. A triple window lets in light on the south wall. Archaeological Description While no prehistoric sites are currently recorded on the property, sites may be present.
At least tow sites are recorded in the general area (within one mile). The physical characteristics of the property include a well-drained, generally level to moderately sloping landscape in close proximity (within 1,000 feet) to wetlands. The presence of these factors indicate favorable locational criteria for most types of prehistoric sites. The Charles River, a demonstrated corridor for Native American subsistence and settlement activity, also passes the property approximately 1-1 ½ miles to the east. Given the above information, the size of the nominated property (approximately 5.62 acres), the availability of open space, and known prehistoric site densities in the region, a high potential exists that prehistoric sites are present. The potential for historic archaeological resources on the property is also high.
Archaeological testing in the vicinity of the Peirce House can determine whether or not structural remains, possible trom the foundations, from the original Clapp Mansion survive. After the Peirce Estate or "The Hawthorne" burned to the ground in 1925, the present house was built on the same site, reportedly using.portions of the same stone foundations. Portions of the original Clapp Mansion may survive, possibly including (continued) NPS Form 10-900-a (8-86) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet OMB Approval No. 1024-0018 Section number. Page Edward Peirce House Weston, (Middlesex County) Massachusetts modifications that incorporated it into the later Peirce Estate.
Although outbuildings were originally present on the nominated property associated with both the Clapp Mansion and Peirce Estate, none currently survive on the property at their original locations. Further documentary research combined with archaeological survey and testing can identify the function and locations of outbuildings associated with the original Clapp Mansion, the later Peirce Estate, or modified Clapp Mansion ("The Hawthorne") and the Peirce Estate. The layout of the original Clapp Estate is documented in the 1908 atlas of Middlesex County, including two separate groups of outbuildings located down the hill from the main house. Known outbuildings and structures associated with the Clapp Mansion include a barn, lodge used as a caretakers house by both Clapp and Peirce, and a water tank.
An extensive archive of plans and elevations for Peirce remodeling of the Clapp Mansion exists with the still active architectural firm who performed the work. Unfortunately, a plot plan does not exist detailing the locations of outbulldings; however, they should follow the basic grouping identitied on the earlier 190 Middlesex County atlas. Several of the original Clapp outbuildings were reused by Peirce after some remodeling and the addition of new buildings. Outbuildings present during the Peirce occupation of the estate included a new garage (1911), remodeling of the existing barn into a recreational building (1911, 1915, 1919), a new greenhouse (1917), a vegetable storage cellar (1917), and a cottage (1920). Among these buildings, only the cottage and stone storage building behind the greenhouse have survived.
The cottage was moved to Wellesley in the 1960s, when the estate was subdivided, while the stone garden storage building was incorporated into a new house at Scotch Pine Road. Local residents who remember outbuildings in the area feel that the location of at least one outbuilding, the garage, may have been located on the flat seciton of land at the southeast corner of the present parcel at the intersection of what is now Scotch Pine and Westcliff Roads. The butler's house or cottage reportedly lay in the path of Scotch Pine Road, indicated these remains are either presently buried under the road or have been destroyed. Most it not all of the original outbuildings present when the Clapp/Peirce Mansion burned in 1925 were still in existence when the present house was built in 1925. All of the outbuildings were lost or moved in 1960 when the estate was sold and subdivided.
Structural remains and some types of occupational-related features (trash areas) may survive at the sites of these structures. Some type of stratigraphic and artifact evidence may also be present in the vicinity of the house to document the 1925 fire. Edward Peirce House Name of Property 8. Statement of Significance