Existing comment:
Adams National Historical Park's "Peacefield":
The estate that John Adams named "Peacefield," later referred to as the "Old House," was home to four generations of the Adams family. The seven room farmhouse, built in 1731, was bought by John and Abigail Adams in 1787. This home served as a safehaven to three more generations of the Adams family, and its structures and landscape reflect over two hundred and fifty years of American History.
John Quincy Adams inherited the house in 1826, while he was the sixth President of the United States. He and his English-born wife, Louisa Catherine, began a tradition of the layering of history by adding their belongings to those of John and Abigail. While Peacefield remained a working farm, John Quincy Adams also used it as a seminary, a place where he experimented with new and different varieties of trees. Like his father before him, Charles Francis Adams added his belongings to the previous generations' when he and Mrs. Charles Francis Adams inherited the house in 1848. The third generation of Peacefield's residents made the most changes to the house and landscape, adding a servant's wing, library, carriage house and converting the former working farm into a gentleman's country estate. Finally, between 1889 and 1927, Brooks and Evelyn Adams were the last generation to add their belongings to the already immense collection in the house making it their summer home. Brooks Adams recognized the historical importance of the home and arranged for the Adams Memorial Society, made up of his nieces and nephews, to preserve it as a museum. in 1946, the house and grounds were donated to the American people through the National Park Service.
Today, Adams National Historical Park serves as a setting for the National Park Service's interpretation of the history of one of America's most prominent political and diplomatic families. The park is an educational resource for every student, regardless of age. |