Hello! Welcome back to our blog. We’ll be continuing our swing through the
Northeast in this post with a trip to the home of not one, but two U.S.
Presidents, John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams at Adams National Historical
Park.
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| Entrance Sign for the Old House at Peace field |
BACKGROUND:
Born
in 1735, John Adams would go on to prominence as one of the foremost Founding
Fathers of the United States. From being
the man who defended British soldiers after the Boston Massacre, to becoming
the leading voice and driving force in the Continental Congress for the cause
of American Independence, John Adams was intricately involved with the creation
of the country. Alongside him in these
endeavors was his formidable wife, Abigail, and his son, John Quincy Adams, who
followed in his father’s footsteps as a statesman.
Following
his return from abroad as an ambassador for the newly independent United
States, John and Abigail purchased a large homestead in Quincy, Massachusetts,
not far from their original homestead which had been the birthplace of both
John and John Quincy. Their new estate,
called ‘Peace field,’ would be the home of the Adams family for over a century,
as John, and then John Quincy both ascended to the nation's highest office as the second and sixth Presidents.
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| The "Old House" at Peace field, the Adams' family estate |
THE PARK:
Adams
National Historical Park is located in the highly developed Boston suburb of
Quincy, Massachusetts. The park consists
of two main sections and a visitor center.
The visitor center is located within and office complex building in the
center of Quincy. From the visitor
center, guests will be transported by trolley to first the site of the
birthplace homes of John and John Quincy Adams, and then finally the Peace
field mansion.
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| One of the Adams NHP trolleys. |
The
first park section consists of two 18th century homes, the
birthplaces of both Presidents. The
older of the two houses was built by John Adams’s father, also named John Adams,
usually called Deacon John due to his clerical position. The second home was gifted to John Adams by
his father, and it was where John and Abigail raised their children and lived
during the American War of Independence.
Both homes, though they have undergone some minor restoration and
preservation processes, are the original structures.
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| The home of Deacon John, birthplace of Founding Father John Adams |
The
second section of the park is the “Old House” or “Peace field” estate. Purchased by John and Abigail Adams in 1788,
the original property once had 75 acres.
Today only a small section around the mansion, library, and carriage
house remain. The house, like the
birthplace houses is completely original.
The interior has been unaltered since at least 1927 and all of the
artifacts inside are original to the Adams family as the house was donated
straight from family ownership to the National Park Service in 1946. In the rear of the mansion is the Stone
Library, built by John Quincy Adams son, Charles Francis Adams, to contain his
father’s large collection of books and is considered by some to be the first
Presidential Library.
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| The Stone Library and gardens behind the Old House |
TRAVEL TIPS:
Visitors
should be warned that access to the Adams National Historic Park is somewhat
restrictive. In order to visit either
the birthplace houses or the Peace field mansion one must go on the guided
trolley tour, which usually has a duration of two and a half hours. Getting to the visitor center can also be
difficult as Quincy is a very built up area with heavy traffic and many one-way
roads. The houses are not handicapped
accessible and photography is prohibited in the interiors. The visitor center opens at 9:00am and closes
at 5:00pm in the summer, with the trolley tours departing every half hour
starting at 9:15am. While the visitor
center is open during the winter, both house sites are closed. There is a parking garage attached to the
rear of the office complex where the visitor center is located. The only restrooms at the site are located
within the visitor center. Passport
stamps are to be found at the front desk.
It is
recommended that after finishing your tour, to cross the street to visit the
United First Parish Church, which is the burial site of both Presidents and
their first ladies. The tombs are in the
basement of the church in a special vault.
There is no fee to enter the church, though a donation is recommended,
and guided tours are available.
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| The tombs of John and Abigail Adams |
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:
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| The home of John and Abigail Adams and birthplace of John Quincy Adams |
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| The carriage house at Peace field |
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| The United First Parish Church |
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| Tombs of John Quincy and Louisa Adams |
