Old House (Quincy, Massachusetts)

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The Old House, in Quincy, Massachusetts, was the residence of U. S. President John Adams and his family for four generations. It was home to Adams and his wife Abigail Adams, their son John Quincy Adams and his wife Louisa Catherine Adams, their son Charles Francis Adams (ambassador to the United Kingdom during the American Civil War), and historians Henry Adams and Brooks Adams.

The oldest portion of the house was built in 1731 by Leonard Vassall, a sugar-planter from Jamaica, and acquired by John and Abigail Adams in 1787 after its owners had abandoned Massachusetts during the Revolutionary War. The Adams were at that time still resident in London, but returned in 1788 to occupy the house and its 40 acres of farmland and orchards. They were disagreeably surprised by the house, however, after their years in England. The house at that time consisted of only two low-ceilinged rooms on the ground floor, two bedrooms, and an attic. As Abigal Adams wrote, "it feels like a wren's nest".

During the subsequent 12 years, with Adams resident in Washington 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 commodious parlor on the ground floor and a large study above. 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 their son, Charles Francis Adams.

The house was given by the Adams family to the United States in 1946, and is now open to the public as part of the Adams National Historical Park operated by the National Park Service. Other nearby sites include the John Adams birthplace, John Quincy Adams birthplace, and United First Parish Church where both presidents and their wives are buried.