This important historic home, Historic Resource #77, is located on Smithbridge Road, near the Rachel Kohl Library and near the American Hero Memorial. The Pierce-Willits House is the headquarters of CTHS and is the site of the Virginia Merion DeNenno History and Education Center.
Francis P. Willits, born November 3, 1856, and a graduate of the Maplewood Institute (the site of the new Concord Township Municipal Complex) bought the Pierce home in 1885. It remained in his family until 1975 when it was acquired in 1975 by Concord Township.
Frank was one of the early growers of mushrooms in America. He acquired mushroom spores from England and began developing his mushroom business in 1892. His brother-in-law, Jacob F. Styer, incorporated mushroom growing into his already budding nursery business along Route 1.
The photograph below shows the mushroom buildings that were located in the area west of the Pierce-Willits house, where the Hero Memorial is now. The existing garage can be seen on the far right of the photo behind the vintage cars, which date this photo to the 1930s or 1940s.
