Pierce immigrated to the United States from Prussia in 1861 and settled in Primrose seven years later where he worked as a dry goods merchant.

[2] The mill itself is a three-story, rectangular, brick structure capped with a combination gambrel-jerkinhead roof.

A Gothic gable dormer with a tall arched window is centered on each side of the roof.

Its founding and operation is associated with the German population of the village, which may also explain the high degree of craftsmanship and the attention to decorative details found on the building.

This article about a property in Lee County, Iowa on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub.