After serving in the U.S. Army in WWI, Cedric Pierce came to teach at Barton Academy in 1925  where he served as headmaster from 1926-1949 and later as principal from 1961-1963. A dedicated teacher and principal, he was beloved by his students who knew him as "Prof. Pierce". Cedric Pierce was also heavily involved in the local community through his support of winter carnivals and ski programs in the 1930s. He also supported local tennis programs at Barton Academy and helped to purchase land for tennis courts. His portrait hangs in the Barton Academy Exhibit and Classroom in the Pierce House Museum.

Also a teacher, Julia Pierce taught for several years in Lyndon and Sheffield. She married Cedric Pierce and in 1925 they bought a little house on Water Street in Barton that would later become the Pierce House Museum. Also active in the community, Julia Pierce volunteered at the library, the Red Cross, and the local Congregational Church. She later went on to help establish the Ladies Improvement Club in the 1960s. It was through her efforts that the club sought to preserve land donated by Ralph Paine for an educational park, as well as her former house on Water Street for a museum. 

On August 7, 1994, roughly 12 acres in Barton Village was recognized as a Historic District by the U.S. Department of the Interior. The district's boundary covers roughly from Church Street to Water Street, to Main Street, to Duck Pond Road and West Street, and from Cemetery Road to Main Street. The historic district includes the Pierce House and more than 50 buildings as well as the Brick Kingdom Historical Park and Trail. 

The Crystal Lake Falls Historic District became a reality through the efforts of many people including board members Avis Harper and Robin Tenny, consultants from T.J. Boyle and Assoc, U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, Vermont Representative Robert Kinsey, and the Vermont Historic Preservation Office.