Pierce-Klingle Mansion, also known as Linnaean Hill, is a historic house in Rock Creek Park in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

It has been listed on the

District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites The District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites is a register of historic places in Washington, D.C. that are designated by the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB), a component of the District of Columbia Govern ...

since 1964 and it was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1973. It is a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...

in the Rock Creek Park Historic District.

History

Joshua Pierce built the house in 1823 and named it Linnaean Hill after

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

, the Swedish

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

. Pierce, himself a

horticulturist Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

, introduced the box garden to Washington and supplied the first ornamental plantings to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

, United States Capitol, and other government buildings. Notable members of Washington society, such as Senators Daniel Webster,

John C. Calhoun John Caldwell Calhoun (; March 18, 1782March 31, 1850) was an American statesman and political theorist from South Carolina who held many important positions including being the seventh vice president of the United States from 1825 to 1832. He ...

, and

Henry Clay Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, al ...

were regular visitors to the house. Because Joshua Pierce died without any children, his estate passed to his nephew, Joshua Pierce Klingle, who lived in the house with his wife until 1890. That year, the house was bought by the United States government as a part of Rock Creek Park.

Public Works Administration The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recove ...

funds were used to restore the house and grounds in 1937. It was leased by the government as a private residence until 1952. The Junior Nature Center then leased the building until 1959, when it was leased to the Junior League of Washington for its administrative offices. The

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

took over the residence in 1972 and used it to house the green scene programs.

Architecture

The Pierce-Klingle Mansion is a three-story, ten-room house built in the

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spe ...

farmhouse style. The exterior is composed of blue and grey granite. The walls are thick. An addition on the west side of the house was constructed in 1843. The poplar paneling in the stairwell and most of the mantelpiece are original to the house. A large fireplace that measures, long and high was uncovered during the 1937 renovation. A

beehive oven A beehive oven is a type of oven in use since the Middle Ages in Europe. It gets its name from its domed shape, which resembles that of a skep, an old-fashioned type of beehive. Its apex of popularity occurred in the Americas and Europe all ...

was built into the wall beside it. A two-story stone and wood frame barn and carriage house are located to the east of the main house. It was built into the side of the hill permitting each floor to have its own entrance corresponding to its ground level. The two-story utility house is located behind and to the east of the main house. It is constructed of granite similar to that of the main house and is part of the design of the terrace wall. Like the barn and carriage house, it has entrances that correspond to their own ground level. The lower floor, however, cannot be accessed from the upper-floor because there is no interior stairway. A brick chimney was constructed when a modern furnace and water heater were installed. On the west end of the terrace is the potting shed, which is similar in design to the utility house.

References

{{authority control Houses completed in 1823 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. Rock Creek Park