Pierce House
Why it's listed
Pierce House is a two and one-half story frame salt-box at 24 Oakton Avenue in Dorchester, Boston. Six bays wide and two deep, it is best known for a sweeping roofline with three distinct pitches, produced when the original seventeenth century frame was widened and given a lean-to in the third quarter of the eighteenth century. Two simple pedimented doorways give it a duplex appearance. Inside, exposed posts, a chamfered summer beam, and mantles and cupboards from several centuries record its long evolution. The house was lived in by the Pierce family, descendants of Robert Pierce, for ten generations until 1968. Family papers, including the diary and muster lists of Col. Samuel Pierce from the Revolutionary period, survive. Tree-ring testing in 2001 later dated the first phase to 1683 and the western extension to 1712, replacing the earlier 1652 deed-based date.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it a primary example of a first period dwelling, with changes and additions made over more than three centuries. It was occupied continuously by the Pierce family for ten generations, and a large body of family documents survives. Its land and sales history also documents the growth of a neighborhood and a sizable part of Dorchester.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 74000917, listed April 26, 1974. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 24 Oakton Ave., Boston |
|---|---|
| County | Suffolk County |
| Listed | April 26, 1974 |
| Reference number | 74000917 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 17th Century (specific date 1652) |
| Architectural style | Salt-box (first period) house with lean-to |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Owned by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities since 1968; condition listed as good, altered, on its original site, and occupied. A later supplement revises the construction dates using tree-ring dating. |
| Acreage | 0.2 |
| Coordinates | 42.28700, -71.05314 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 74000917.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7191803
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.