After Walter was born the family moved to Baxter Springs, Kansas, and Charles died there in 1860, leaving six children.

[5] By October of that year, along with partners John M. Haines and L. H. Cox, he had founded W. E. Pierce & Co., a real estate and abstract company originally located at 820 Main Street, across from the Lemp Block.

[15] Pierce was nominated for mayor of Boise City in 1895, a position he had not sought and one which his friends mistakenly believed he would decline.

During his tenure, Boise City collected road taxes,[17] installed paved streets, cement sidewalks,[18][19] and regulated electric lines, telephone poles, and hydrants.

[29] The building is listed with the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing resource in the Boise Capitol Area District.

The Walter E. Pierce House (1914), designed by Wayland & Fennell, was purchased by the State of Idaho in 1947 and served as the official governor's mansion from 1947 to 1990.