Historic New England's Pierce House

"I visited Pierce House a few weeks ago on one of the three days it is open in a year as one of the 100 or so adults who get the opportunity to tour this fascinating old building. Located across the street from Thomas J. Kenny School, the 17th century house serves as an educational venue for multiple schools in the Greater Boston area. Tickets are frequently purchased by HNE members who are sent an email alert before the tickets go on sale. If you are not member, visit on the first Saturday in June from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., the annual open house. If you do manage to snag a ticket, these are standard HNE small house pricing at $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and students, $5 for children, and $0 for HNE members and Boston Residents. While most historic house tours are not easy to navigate, parts of this house are exceptionally difficult even for athletic visitors. Limited parking is available on the street and in the school parking lot across the street. Visitors who prefer to travel via public transportation can walk from the Ashmont station on the MBTA red line. If you are a HNE member or architecture aficionado, the tour is amazing. Both the tour guide and fellow visitors are highly knowledgeable in early American decor and building techniques. However, if your preferred experiences with house museums are Newport Mansions or Plimoth & Pawtuxet, you may be bored by this tour."

"Three houses down, many more to go! Historic New England has done an amazing job maintaining these properties. It is such a joy to have these to enjoy. Hopefully these persist for many more years. I look forward to visiting more houses throughout the next year or so. All the guides so far have been excellent and Katie (20 years anniversary as a tour guide), is no exception. She shared a lot of knowledge and anecdotes as was expected, all with a pleasant countenance. An important house museum."

"Not the most impressive Historic New England property, open only 3 times a year. But a very old structure with quirks and a great tour guide that explained structure design changes throughout the years and conversation decisions. This house is a children museum and has interesting educational props even for adults!"

"Very interesting history lesson. Staff is very child friendly. All 3 of my boys have gone here with their schools. Extremely clean and well kept."

"Excellent tour of a very interesting house. Nice to have a middle class representation, and to see the evolution of the house over the generations."