John Peirce was a financier who commissioned a 23-room mansion in 1893. Built in the Romanesque style, the home was constructed out of Sioux Quartzite.
The Junior League purchased the mansion in 1959, and it opened as the Sioux City Public Museum in September 1960. For several decades, it housed exhibits relating to the history of the region, including Native American artifacts that were targeted by thieves in 1996.
The museum moved to a former J. C. Penney store in downtown Sioux City in 2011. While the museum relocated, the Sioux City Public Museum kept ownership of the mansion. The building has since been restored to a Victorian-era appearance.
Today, the mansion serves a dual purpose. It is still owned by the museum but is open to the public for quarterly open house events and is available for rental. Visitors can experience the historic 23-room structure built from Sioux Quartzite.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Kyle McLonely
Discuss this with the author and others
No comments yet. Be the first to start the conversation.