Peace field: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Adams National Historical Park

Brown, Margie; Crosbie, Allison; Holder, Kirsten

Peace field is part of Adams National Historical Park, located in the City of Quincy, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, approximately ten miles south of Boston. The park includes the birthplaces of second U.S. President John Adams, born on October 30, 1735, and his son and sixth U.S. President John Quincy Adams, born on July 11, 1767; and the Old House at Peace field, which includes the Old House and surrounding grounds. The Old House was home to four generations of the Adams family from 1787 to 1927. The birthplaces and Peace field are slightly over one mile apart, and together include eleven historic structures and a cultural landscape totaling almost 14 acres. Nearby are the United First Parish Church, where both Presidents and the First Ladies are entombed in the Adams family crypt, and an off-site visitor center. The main focus of the 4.77-acre Peace field property is the two-story, wood framed Old House, built in 1731. It was the 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. Adjacent to the house is the stone library built in 1873, which contains more than 12,000 books that belonged to the Adamses. The surrounding landscape at Peace field includes an eighteenth-century style formal garden containing a mix of annual and perennial flowers, a historic orchard, and a duck pond. The property is composed of three principal spaces: the Old House with entry walks to the south and the flower garden and library to the west; the east lawn and carriage house on either side of the tree lined drive; and an orchard, meadow, and pond area to the north. Surrounding roads include Adams Street to the south, Newport Avenue to the east, and Furnace Brook Parkway to the north. A gravel driveway enters the property at two points from Newport Avenue—to the north and south of the carriage house—that encircles the carriage house and forks continue west to the back of the Old House. Along Adams Street, two pedestrian entry gates open to walkways that lead to the Old House’s long front porch and double entry doors. This path connects to orthogonal gravel paths in the flower garden and to the library. Mown paths extend from the house and garden areas into the orchard and over to the adjacent Beale estate to the west (also within the park’s boundaries). Within the property, views are framed by buildings and shade trees, with longer views to the open meadows to the west and north. Views beyond the property portray the mixed development that occurred in the twentieth century including suburban homes, a ten-story apartment building, a gas station, and the constant flow of vehicle traffic on the surrounding streets. In addition, the MBTA Commuter Rail and Red Line trains run regularly just to the east of the site. The numerous shade trees on the property provide separation from the surrounding built environment. Notable trees include mature yellowwood and black walnut in the flower garden, an elm near the duck pond, and numerous fruit and nut trees in the orchard. Vines climb trellises on the Old House, adhere to the walls of the stone library, and cover the property’s stone boundary wall. Ornamental shrubs surround the Old House and flower garden area. A number of small-scale elements are found throughout the site including hitching posts along Adams Street, a well and pump to the north of the Old House, trellis structures for vines, a drying yard delineated by posts and clotheslines, as well as several modern benches and signs. Collectively, the layout of the buildings, walkways, vegetation, and small-scale features convey the unique relationship held by each Adams family generation with the property.

Peace field: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Adams National Historical Park

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