{"nrhp_refnum":"73001604","name":"Pierce, Lukens, House","other_names":["Fallowfield Octagonal House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NW of Ercildoun on Wilmington Rd., East Fallowfield Township","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ercildoun","county":"Chester County","state":"PA","lat":39.952686880000044,"lon":-75.84957148299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-03-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story octagonal house of fieldstone covered with stucco, with a slate roof and octagonal cupola, in Ercildoun, Chester County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1856 by Lukens Pierce, one of America's first nurserymen.","why_significant":"The house is significant for its connection with Lukens Pierce, who built a profitable nursery business starting in 1854 and was described in his obituary as probably more extensively engaged in the nursery trade than any other person in America. The octagonal form is considered rare in southeastern Pennsylvania, where such houses are uncommon compared with the orchard and vineyard regions of New York and Ohio.","narrative":"Built in 1856 in Ercildoun, Chester County, this two-story house of fieldstone covered with stucco is an unusual eight-sided design, with a slate roof, an octagonal cupola and wooden Italianate brackets under the eaves. Its interior centered on a circular stairway, with four large rectangular rooms and four small triangular closets on each floor. It was built by Lukens Pierce, who started a nursery in 1854 that grew into a profitable business. By 1861 he was offering Italian bees, fruit trees, grape vines, berry plants and evergreen and deciduous trees. At his death in 1872 his estate covered about 150 acres, including the nursery and the house. His obituary described him as probably more deeply engaged in the nursery trade than anyone else in America. The house is regarded as probably the only octagonal house of its kind in southeastern Pennsylvania, a form more typical of the orchard and vineyard country of New York and Ohio. Its importance rests mainly on its link to Pierce, since neither the house nor the man appears in studies of multi-sided buildings or in histories of American horticulture.","period_of_significance":"1856","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Octagonal, with Italianate brackets","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"The original kitchen addition and veranda have been removed, the kitchen has been moved, and the present owners have made interior alterations.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:13:00.997501-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/73001604.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001604/b15edb6c0f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001604/b15edb6c0f-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Ned Goode, HABS photographer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lukens_Pierce.jpeg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ned Goode, HABS photographer</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lukens_Pierce.jpeg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71995491","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lukens_Pierce_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6702517"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/chester-county/pierce-lukens-house-73001604/"}