Mansion History
Peirce Mansion / History
1891
Real estate developer, Northside promoter, and city booster John Peirce began construction of this home. The architect was Charles P. Brown, who also designed the 1890 Corn Palace, Augustana Lutheran Church and several other prominent Sioux City buildings. The exterior walls of the 21-room house are South Dakota quartzite.
1900
Peirce staged a national raffle of his home, selling approximately 40,000 tickets at one dollar per chance. The confusing (and, as discovered later, fraudulent) lottery ended with millionaire New York threadmaker William Barbour securing title to the residence.
1902
Barbour sold the home to Stella and William Gordon in exchange for bonds issued by the company which was operating the Combination Bridge. The Gordons, in turn, sold the mansion to Dr. J. N. Warren.
1908
Prominent businessman Thomas S. Martin purchased the mansion. He had founded the Martin Department Store in Sioux City in 1889, which had grown to become one of the largest and best-known in the region. The Martins lived here until 1920. (T .S. Martin died on August 9, 1915).
1921 - 1922
The house was occupied by C. A. Escher, a stock dealer.
After 1922, the property was vacant for two years.
1924
The residence was occupied by C. E. Hutton for one year, who was sales manager for the Thompson and DeJarnette Dodge dealership. It was Vacant until 1928.
1928
J. Earle Martin, the son of T. S. Martin and the president of the T. S. Martin Department Store, moved into the house after a major renovation project. The family lived there until 1946.
1946 - 1950
The home was owned and occupied by Martha Zanfes. The house was then known as “the house of lights,” for Mrs. Zanfes, an antique collector, placed lamps in all windows and around the street edge of the porch.
1951 - 1957
The building served as a residence for Lutheran Hospital student nurses.
1958
The Junior League of Sioux City purchased the house for $10,000. It was donated in 1959 to the City of Sioux City for use as a cultural building.
1961
The Sioux City Public Museum, formerly located in the library building, opened to the public in its new quarters.
1978
The John Peirce House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
2011
The Sioux City Public Museum was relocated to downtown Sioux City and restoration work began on the Victorian-era mansion. The first facility rental was a wedding in spring 2011. The first public open house showcasing the restoration efforts was held in June 2011.
2017
The Sioux City Museum & Historical Association's Peirce Mansion Committee received the annual Treasure of Sioux City Award from the Sioux City Historic Preservation Commission on May 12, 2017.
Where it began
John Peirce
John Peirce came to Sioux City in 1869, where he entered real estate business and devoted his time and money to the development of the “north side” — the area between 23rd Street and 40th Street on Jackson and Nebraska Streets.
Peirce financed a cable railway line on Jackson St. and provided its power with the electric plant he built at 29th and Jones Streets. This plant also provided the power needed for a 500 watt electric light placed every two blocks on Jackson Street and steam heat for several nearby mansions.
In the late 1880s and early 1890s, Sioux City was experiencing a business and development boom. It was an era of boosters and promotion of the city, with crowning achievements such as construction of five corn palaces and the Peavey Grand Opera House. Sioux City was being looked upon as the next great metropolis of the west, until the international recession of 1893 hit the city and several prominent businessmen declared bankruptcy.
John Peirce was one of those promoters whose fortunes were lost during this time. Although he retained his enthusiasm and hopefulness for Sioux City’s recovery for several years, by about 1900 he gave up and made plans to move to Seattle. For more information about John Peirce, visit our Sioux City History site.
Peirce Mansion Raffle
Peirce developed a scheme to sell his home at 2901 Jackson by instituting a nationwide lottery. Raffle tickets were sold for a dollar a chance, with approximately 40,000 tickets distributed.
The drawing took place December 24, 1900 at the Union passenger depot. It was first announced that Bert M. Bills, a jeweler from Vinton, Iowa, held winning ticket number 35,365. Several days later it was revealed that William Barbour, a millionaire New York threadmaker, held the winning ticket.
The abstract for Peirce’s mansion actually reveals that a warranty deed transferring title to William Barbour was drawn up on December 17, 1900, nineteen days before Barbour was known to hold the “winning” ticket. The lottery had been fixed.