Old House at Peace Field c 1731 Quincy MA The Home of Presidents History Bites New England

Welcome to Quincy, Massachusetts, and the old house at Peace Field, home to four generations of the celebrated Adams family, including John Adams, second president of the United States. Managed by the National Park Service, Peace Field is also home to the Stone Library, which houses a vast collection of Adams family books belonging to multiple generations. President John F. Kennedy said of the Adams family, their devotion to the public interest runs like a scarlet thread throughout the tapestry of American history. The house was originally built in 1731 by Major Leonard Vassell, a wealthy sugar plantation owner in Jamaica, who came to Boston in the 1720s and would later purchase a plot of land in Braintree, modern-day Quincy, in which he built the house most famously associated with the Adams family. John Adams and his wife, Abigail, acquired this home upon their return from England in 1788. It would later become the home of the Adams' son and sixth president of the United States, John Quincy Adams. Both father and son would reside here during their presidencies. Later generations refer to the house fondly as the old house. The original portion of the old house was built in the first half of the 18th century and each subsequent generation altered it to their taste. The home was associated with the Adams family for over a century and a half, from 1787 to 1946. In 1796, more than a decade after the Revolutionary War, John Adams wrote of his property, I think to christen my place by the name of Peace Field in commemoration of the peace which I assisted in making in 1783, of the peace and neutrality which I have contributed to preserve, and the constant peace and tranquility which I have enjoyed in this residence. Returning to a grateful nation in 1788, after years abroad as a diplomat and minister plenipotentiary, John Adams with his wife, Abigail, moved into what Adams described as a very genteel dwelling on 75 acres, just over a mile from their humble farmhouse. Adams was 88 years old when he sat for this portrait in the old house. I must study politics and war, said the Revolution era leader Adams, so that my sons have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. Indeed, notes the Park Service, his sons would study diplomacy, navigation, and commerce, and their sons studied history, art, and literature. As a member of the Continental Congress, it was John Adams who called on Congress to appoint Washington to lead the army. As vice president, however, serving in the Washington administration, Adams famously referred to the vice presidency as the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived. John Adams commissioned the portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Washington when he was serving as vice president in the Washington administration. Warren, who died fighting at the Battle of Bunker Hill, was a personal friend and physician to John and Abigail Adams. Abigail was the wife of Charles Francis Adams and the daughter-in-law of John Quincy Adams. Her husband, Charles, served as U.S. minister to Great Britain. Several generations of Adams' family, starting with John Adams, mistakenly believed that this painting represented John Quincy, founder of the town of Quincy. However, the painting is dated 1670, and John Quincy was born in 1689. According to Antiques Magazine, the painting was passed down to the Adams family from the estate of John Quincy, who was related to Alice Mason through marriage, and in her declining years served as her guardian. Therefore, the magazine adds, the Adams family managed to confuse not only the identity of the sitter, but her sex, a fairly easy mistake with 17th century portraits, since during the period both girls and boys wore dresses until the ages of four or five. The long room features a Louis XV sofa, which was used in France, Philadelphia, Washington, and Quincy. On either side are Louis XV chairs used by women in hoop skirts. At the time of this portrait, Adams was serving in the Washington administration as minister to the Netherlands. He was also engaged to be married to Louisa Catherine Johnson, a union his parents disapproved of due to his fiancée's English upbringing. John Quincy would not reconsider his decision to wed. Following his return from Europe, John Adams continued to serve his country as the first vice president and second president of the United States. He and Abigail spent their retirement years living here year-round. The marble top table of hand-carved mahogany belonged to John Adams. Their descendants would only summer of what they affectionately called the old house, today's old house at Peacefield. In time, Peacefield was changed from a working farm to a country estate as farming gave way to horticulture. John Quincy Adams, notes the park service, found great satisfaction and comfort in planting trees and lived by the motto, he plants for future generations. Louisa was the wife of John Quincy Adams and first lady of the United States from 1825 to 1829. Also located in Quincy and part of the Adams National Historical Park, the birthplaces of John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams, are the nation's oldest presidential birthplaces. They stand on the original foundations at the foot of Penn's Hill, 75 feet apart near the road connecting Boston and Plymouth. Born in 1735, John Adams grew up in a rural setting seven miles south of Austin and less than a mile from the sea where his father, Deacon John Adams, farmed in the summer and made shoes in the winter. Deacon John may have added this lean-to kitchen and dining space to the house. In addition to his work as a farmer and cord wainer or shoemaker, he valued education and planned for his son John to attend college and become a minister. Deacon John also had a strong sense of duty to his community. He served as a town selectman and a deacon in the local church. He helped church meetings at his house. Seeing these meetings showed the young John he was not suited to becoming a minister. He considered other professions and decided to become a lawyer. The hall was the original kitchen and dining space of the house before the addition of the lean-to kitchen. There is little evidence about how the house's rooms looked or functioned. A young John Adams wrote that passion, accident, and humor govern in this house. John was the oldest of three boys born to Deacon John and Susanna, and he describes his father as honest and active in church and town business. His mother, who came from a prominent Boston family, is cited by John as being responsible for instilling in him the values that shaped his character and nurtured his intellectual curiosity and moral development. While John spent much of his youth indulging in sports and idle amusements, he came to appreciate learning with his parents' support. The house known as the John Quincy Adams Birthplace was built in 1663. Upon his father's death, John Adams inherited the small saltbox cottage adjacent to his birthplace and, having graduated from Harvard College and being admitted to the Massachusetts Bar, that is where he and Abigail lived upon their marriage. John set up his law office with a separate door so he could prepare for legal cases at home. After the new nation declared independence, the states needed new governments. On a return trip home in 1779, John drafted a constitution for Massachusetts in this room. The Massachusetts Constitution he wrote is still in use today. It inspired the United States Constitution written in 1787. John's law practice and then his involvement in politics took him away from home frequently. Abigail supervised the children's education and oversaw farm operations in the household in his absence. She kept her husband informed through letters and he responded in kind. While separated from his family, John continued to instruct Abigail to instruct the children, cultivate their minds, he wrote, inspire their little hearts, and raise their wishes, fix their attention upon great and glorious objects, sort out every little thing, and weed out every meanness. John and Abigail were separated for over 10 years of their marriage. Abigail became known as a patriot on the home front. Often the militia and citizens fleeing Boston would take refuge on their property. Abigail would feed them and provide supplies when able. In managing house and farm, Abigail wrote, if what I enjoy I can share with my partner and with liberty, I can sing, oh be joyful, and sit down content. A 16-year-old John Quincy was in The Hague, Netherlands when he sat for this portrait. The painting, according to the White House Historical Association, reflects how his style as a young man was influenced by the prevailing fashions of France and Great Britain. He is depicted wearing a slim fitting frock coat with a wide turned down collar, a colorful waist coat, possibly embroidered and powdered hair, styles that were popular at the time among young men in Western Europe. Among his many achievements in a long diplomatic and political career, Adams served as Secretary of State in the Monroe Administration, which acquired Florida through the Adams-Otis Treaty. Following his presidency, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he was a leading voice against slavery. John Quincy Adams requested in his will that a library be built on the grounds of the old house. His son, Charles Francis Adams, fulfilled that wish, constructing Stone Library in 1870. John Quincy Adams purchased these statues in Paris. He referred to them as household gods. They are Cicero, Homer, Virgil, Plato, Socrates, and Demosthenes. John Quincy Adams not only read Cicero, but he translated the orations as well. This painting, completed by an unknown artist, commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 that ended the Revolutionary War. John Adams is depicted second from the left. The painting is unfinished because the British delegation refused to pose for the painting, which commemorated their defeat in the war. The vine-covered portico of the old house is where John Adams made his last public appearance in 1821 at age 86. He addressed 200 West Point cadets who had marched 10 miles from Boston to honor him. you