2018.046.006 [Ticket]

This raffle ticket was used in a raffle for the home of John Peirce of Sioux City, Iowa. During the late 1800s, Peirce funded projects across Sioux City and was an influential community member. After losing most of his fortune in 1893, Peirce decided to leave Sioux City. To raise funds for his move, Peirce organized a raffle to sell his Sioux City mansion. Raffle tickets cost one dollar each; however, Peirce did not sell enough tickets right away so he began to use them to pay of debts. He gave $2,500 worth of tickets to William Barbour, one of his creditors. When the raffle took place, Barbour was declared the winner, even though he did not have the winning ticket. After the raffle, Peirce and his family moved to Seattle, and he passed away in 1910. In the 1960s, the Peirce mansion became the site of the original Sioux City Public Museum. Content can be used with the following standards: SS-Econ. 9-12.24 Iowa Impact Upon Economy in a lesson on influential people who helped develop Iowa city economy. For any use other than instructional resources, please check with the organization that owns this item regarding copyright restrictions.