Adams National Historical Park, formerly Adams National Historic Site, in Quincy, Massachusetts

Quincy, Massachusetts

Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...

, preserves the home of Presidents of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 John Adams

John Adams

John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...

 and John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...

, of U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain

Kingdom of Great Britain

The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...

, Charles Francis Adams

Charles Francis Adams, Sr.

Charles Francis Adams, Sr. was an American lawyer, politician, diplomat and writer. He was the grandson of President John Adams and Abigail Adams and the son of President John Quincy Adams and Louisa Adams....

, and of the writers and historians Henry Adams and Brooks Adams

Brooks Adams

Peter Chardon Brooks Adams , was an American historian and a critic of capitalism. He graduated from Harvard University in 1870 and studied at Harvard Law School in 1870 and 1871....

.

The national historical park

National Historical Park

National Historic Sites are protected areas of national historic significance in the United States. A National Historic Site usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject...

's eleven buildings tell the story of five generations of the Adams family (from 1720 to 1927) including Presidents, First Ladies

First Lady of the United States

First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...

, U.S. Ministers, historians, writers, and family members who supported and contributed to their success. In addition to Peacefield

Peacefield

Peacefield, also called Old House, is a historic home formerly owned by second President of the United States, John Adams, and other members of the Adams family, located in Quincy, Massachusetts near Boston...

, home to four generations of the Adams family, the park's main historic features include the John Adams Birthplace (October 30, 1735), the nearby John Quincy Adams Birthplace (July 11, 1767), and the Stone Library (built in 1870 to house the books of John Quincy Adams and believed to be the first presidential library

Presidential library

In the United States, the Presidential library system is a nationwide network of 13 libraries administered by the Office of Presidential Libraries, which is part of the National Archives and Records Administration...

), containing more than 14,000 historic volumes in 12 languages.

There is an off-site visitor center less than a mile (1.6 km) away. Regularly scheduled tours of the houses are offered in season (April 19 to November 10), by guided tour only, using a tourist trolley

Tourist trolley

A tourist trolley, also called a road trolley, is a rubber-tired bus , which is made to resemble an old-style streetcar or tram....

 provided by the Park Service between sites. Access to United First Parish Church is provided by the congregation for which they ask a small donation. The church is across the street from the visitor center

John Adams Birthplace

This house is a National Historic Landmark

National Historic Landmark

A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

, the birthplace of John Adams

John Adams

John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...

. In 1720 it was purchased by Deacon John Adams, Sr.

John Adams, Sr.

John Adams, Sr. was the father of the second U.S. President, John Adams, and grandfather of the sixth President, John Quincy Adams. He was, in turn, a fifth-generation descendant of Henry Adams, who emigrated from Braintree, Essex, in England to Massachusetts Bay Colony in about 1638. He was...

, the father of the future second president. He lived here until 1764, when he married Abigail Smith

Abigail Adams

Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams, who was the second President of the United States, and the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth...

. It is a few feet from the John Quincy Adams Birthplace.

John Quincy Adams Birthplace

This house was the birthplace of John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...

, the sixth president, son of John and Abigail, who was born in 1767.

The Old House at Peacefield

The Old House was originally constructed in 1731 for Leonard Vassall, a sugar planter, and was used as his summer house. The house stood empty for some time before it, along with 75 acres (30.4 ha), was purchased by Adams on September 23, 1787 for 600 pounds. The Adams's family moved in the next year and occupied it until 1927, when it was sold to the Adams Memorial Society. The National Park Service acquired it in 1947, and has been a National Historic Site ever since.

Stone Library

This library, on the grounds of Peacefield, is home to over 14,000 volumes which belonged to the Adams family. In his will, John Quincy Adams requested that the library be built out of stone so that it would be fireproof. The building was completed in 1870.

United First Parish Church

The church where both Presidents and their First Ladies are entombed in the Adams Crypt has never been administered by the National Park service. It is owned by the active congregation of Unitarian Universalists

Unitarian Universalism

Unitarian Universalism is a religion characterized by support for a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists do not share a creed; rather, they are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth and by the understanding that an individual's theology is a...

. In the past ten years, the congregation has used almost $2 million of its own resources to preserve the building.

Administrative history

• December 9, 1946 — The Old House at Peacefield was designated the Adams Mansion National Historic Site
• November 26, 1952 — The site was renamed Adams National Historic Site and an adjoining parcel of land was added.
• December 19, 1960 — the birthplaces of both presidents were designated National Historic Landmark
  National Historic Landmark
  A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
  
  s.
• October 15, 1966 — The entire historic site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
  National Register of Historic Places
  The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
  
   (as are all historic areas administered by the National Park Service
  National Park Service
  The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
  
  ).
• December 30, 1970 — The privately owned United First Parish Church was also designated a National Historic Landmark.
• November 2, 1998 — The historic site was redesignated Adams National Historical Park.

External links

• Official NPS website: Adams National Historical Park