Old House (Quincy, Mass.)

Peacefield, also called Peace field or Old House, is a historic home formerly owned by the Adams family of Quincy, Massachusetts. It was the home of United States Founding Father and U.S. president John Adams and First Lady Abigail Adams, and of U.S. president John Quincy Adams and his First Lady, Louisa Adams. It is now part of the Adams National Historical Park.

The Stone Library requested by John Quincy Adams is directly next door. It was built by John Quincy's son Charles, a Peacefield resident, after the deaths of the two presidents. Peacefield was the home and farm of John Adams and his wife, Abigail Smith Adams. Later, it was also the home of John Quincy Adams, his wife Louisa Catherine Adams, their son Charles Francis Adams, and Charles' sons, historians Henry Adams and Brooks Adams. The oldest portion of the house was built in 1731 as a summer house for Leonard Vassall (1678-1737), wealthy owner of slave-labor sugar plantations in Luana, New Savannah, and Green River, Jamaica.[1] The two-and-a-half story frame house had a gambrel roof and separate kitchens with quarters for enslaved servants.[2] Vassall's will names two of those enslaved on the property: Pompey and his wife Fidelia The Adams returned in 1788 to occupy the house, farmland, and orchards. They were disagreeably surprised by the house, however, after their years in England. To Abigail Adams, it resembled a 'wren's nest' with all the comfort of a 'barracks.'" They would call it "Old House." During the subsequent 12 years, with Adams resident in Philadelphia first as vice president and then as president, Abigail Adams attended to the house and farm. She greatly expanded it, adding what is now the right side of the front facade, with a fine hallway and large parlor on the ground floor and a large study above. The additions were built in the Georgian style with a gambrel roof creating a nearly full attic story. Adams returned to the house full-time in 1801 after his defeat for a second presidential term. His son John Quincy Adams also returned to the house at that time, after completing his ambassadorial term in Berlin. Further extensions to the house were made by his son, Charles Francis Adams.

National Park Service

Interior of the Stone Library, a separate structure located next to the home
Brooks Adams, Charles Francis' youngest son, was the last member of the family to live at Peacefield. Upon his death in 1927, the house became a museum run by the Adams Memorial Society, until it was incorporated into the National Park Service in 1946.

The park later acquired nearby sites including the John Adams Birthplace and John Quincy Adams Birthplace, which together with the visitor center constitute Adams National Historical Park. United First Parish Church, where both presidents and their wives are buried, is nearby but not part of the park.

The family and the home are intertwined with the political and intellectual history of the birth of the American nation. Two older and smaller houses are located on the property, as well as the 1870 Gothic Revival Stone Library, which houses 14,000 volumes owned by John Quincy Adams. The property contains a historic orchard of heirloom apples, and formal 18th-century flower gardens.

The John Adams and John Quincy Adams Birthplaces are the oldest presidential birthplaces in the United States. In 1735, John Adams was born in the "salt box" house located only 75 feet away from the birthplace of his son John Quincy Adams. In the John Quincy Adams Birthplace, young John and his bride Abigail started their family and the future President launched his career in politics and law. John Adams maintained his law office in the house and it was here that he, Samuel Adams, and James Bowdoin wrote the Massachusetts Constitution. This document, still in use today, greatly influenced development of the United States Constitution.

The Old House at Peace field, built in 1731, became the residence of the Adams family for four generations from 1788 to 1927. It was home to Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams; First Ladies Abigail and Louisa Catherine Adams; Civil War Minister to Great Britain Charles Francis Adams; and literary historians Henry and Brooks Adams. The vast collection of original artifacts inside the Old House greatly assists the park's interpretive staff to relate the Adams family's legacy of service to their nation. Adjacent to the house is the Stone Library, built in 1873, it contains more than 12,000 books that belonged to the Adamses. Following a tour, you may wish to stroll the Old House grounds which include a historic orchard and an 18th-century style formal garden, containing thousands of annual and perennial flowers.