John Adams Birthplace

Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

United States historic place

John Adams Birth Home

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

U.S. National Historic Landmark

Birthplace of President John Adams, Quincy, Massachusetts

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Location| Quincy, Massachusetts
Coordinates| 42°14′21.46″N 71°0′12.8″W﻿ / ﻿42.2392944°N 71.003556°W﻿ / 42.2392944; -71.003556
Built| 1681
NRHP reference No.| 66000129
Significant dates
Added to NRHP| October 15, 1966[1]
Designated NHL| December 19, 1960[2]

The John Adams Birthplace is a historic house at 133 Franklin Street in Quincy, Massachusetts. It is the saltbox home in which Founding Father and second president of the United States, John Adams, was born in 1735. The house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is now administered by the National Park Service as part of the Adams National Historical Park, and is open for guided tours.

## Description and early history

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The house, a 2+1⁄2 story wood-frame structure sheathed in wooden clapboards, is a classic New England home with two lower and two upper rooms built around a massive central chimney. Extensive alterations were made over the years, including the building of a lean-to in the 18th century that added two downstairs rooms and two small upper chambers. The main facade is three bays wide with the entry in the center. The doorway is framed by pilasters and topped by an entablature and triangular pediment.[3]

The land on which the house sits was first owned by William Needham, who built a house on the property c. 1681. President John Adams refers to the fact that his father built the house in a letter to Benjamin Rush of July 19, 1812. The framing of the east side incorporates a number of reused timbers dating to the 1670s."[4] John, the oldest son of Deacon John, was born in the east room on October 30 (October 19 O.S.), 1735.[3]

## Later history

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Upon the Deacon's death in 1761, the house passed to his second son, Peter; the elder John received the house next door, where John Quincy Adams was born to John and Abigail Adams in 1767. Peter lived in the house with his mother until 1768, when he married. In 1774 he sold the house to his brother John, who rented it out after their mother died in 1780. In 1803 John sold both houses to his son, who lived in the house of his birth, and rented this one out. The house was occupied from 1810 to 1818 by John Quincy Adams' son, Thomas Boylston Adams.[3]

Both houses remained in Adams family ownership, and were rented out until 1885, when most of the surrounding farmland was sold off. After sitting vacant, Charles Francis Adams Jr. authorized the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution to use the house as meeting space. This they did until the chapter folded in 1950. The Adamses sold the house to the City of Quincy in 1940, which turned administration of the property over to the Quincy Historical Society (which had earlier taken over the adjacent house) in 1950.[3] The two houses are now part of Adams National Historical Park, and are administered by the National Park Service. They are open for guided tours.

## See also

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* Peacefield, the major Adams house in the national park
* List of National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Quincy, Massachusetts
* Presidential memorials in the United States

## Gallery

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* John Adams birthplace and the John Quincy Adams Birthplace

* Birthplace of John Adams and John Quincy Adams

## References

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1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
2. ^ "John Adams Birthplace". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on May 2, 2008. Retrieved November 16, 2007.
3. ^ a b c d Polly M. Rettig and Charles E. Shedd, Jr. (March 5, 1975) National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: John Adams birthplace, National Park Service and Accompanying 2 photos, exterior, from 1974.
4. ^ "Oxford Tree-Ring Laboratory". Archived from the original on December 20, 2016.

## External links

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* John Adams' birthplace NHL listing

* v
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Quincy, Massachusetts

Neighborhoods|

* Adams Shore
* Germantown
* Hough's Neck
* Marina Bay
* Merrymount
* Montclair
* North Quincy
* Quincy Center
* Quincy Point
* South Quincy
* Squantum
* West Quincy
* Wollaston

Schools|

* Quincy Public Schools
* Quincy High School
* North Quincy High School
* Woodward School for Girls

Colleges|

* Quincy College
* Eastern Nazarene College

Landmarks|

* Adams National Historical Park
* Peacefield
* John Adams Birthplace
* John Quincy Adams Birthplace
* Church of the Presidents
* Thomas Crane Public Library
* Granite Railway
* Josiah Quincy House
* Quincy City Hall
* Quincy Quarries Reservation
* Quincy Shore Drive
* Squantum Point Park
* United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum
* USS Salem

Media|

* The Patriot Ledger

MBTA stations|

* North Quincy
* Quincy Adams
* Quincy Center
* Wollaston

Islands|

* Moon Island

History|

* Dennison Airport
* Fore River Shipyard
* Moswetuset Hummock
* Naval Air Station Squantum
* Quincy Canal

* Category

* v
* t
* e

John Adams

* 2nd President of the United States (1797–1801)
* 1st Vice President of the United States (1789–1797)
* U.S. Minister to the United Kingdom (1785–1788)
* U.S. Minister to the Netherlands (1782–1788)
* Delegate to the Second Continental Congress (1775–1778)
* Delegate to the First Continental Congress (1774)

Founding of the
United States|

* Braintree Instructions (1765)
* Boston Massacre defense
* Continental Association
* Petition to the King
* United Colonies
* Thoughts on Government (1776)
* Lee Resolution (seconded)
* Declaration of Independence
* May 15 preamble
* Committee of Five
* Model Treaty
* Treaty of Amity and Commerce
* Treaty of Alliance
* Board of War
* Chairman of the Marine Committee, 1775–1779
* Continental Navy
* Staten Island Peace Conference
* Conference House
* Constitution of Massachusetts (1780)
* Treaty of Paris, 1783
* Diplomacy

Elections|

* United States presidential election 1788–1789
* 1792
* 1796
* 1800

Presidency
(timeline)|

* Inauguration
* Quasi War with France
* XYZ Affair
* United States Department of the Navy
* Commerce Protection Act
* United States Marine Corps
* Convention of 1800
* Mississippi Organic Act
* Alien and Sedition Acts
* Naturalization Act of 1798
* Sick and Disabled Seamen Relief Act
* Marine Hospital Service
* Bankruptcy Act of 1800
* Indiana Organic Act
* Slave Trade Act of 1800
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* Treaty of Tellico
* Treaty of Tripoli
* Midnight Judges Act
* Marbury v. Madison
* State of the Union Address (1797
* 1798
* 1799
* 1800)
* Presidential transition of Thomas Jefferson
* Cabinet
* Federal judiciary appointments

Other writings|

* Massachusetts Historical Society holdings
* Adams Papers Editorial Project
* A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America
* Letters of Mrs. Adams, the Wife of John Adams
* Founders Online
* Gray v. Pitts

Life and
homes|

* Early life and education
* Adams National Historical Park
* John Adams Birthplace
* Family home and John Quincy Adams birthplace
* Peacefield
* Stone Library
* Massachusetts Hall, Harvard University
* Presidents House, Philadelphia
* Co-founder and second president, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
* United First Parish Church and gravesite

Legacy|

* Bibliography
* List of memorials
* Adams Memorial (proposed)
* John Adams Building
* John Adams Courthouse
* Jefferson Memorial pediment
* U.S. Postage stamps
* Treaty of Paris (1783 painting)
* USS Adams (1799)
* USS John Adams (1799)
* USS Adams (1874)
* USS President Adams (1941)
* USS John Adams (1963)
* Adams House at Harvard University
* John Adams tree
* Mount Adams (New Hampshire, Washington)
* Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence

Popular culture|

* Declaration of Independence (1938 film)
* Profiles in Courage (1964 series)
* American Primitive (1969 play)
* 1776 (1969 musical
* 1972 film)
* The Adams Chronicles (1976 miniseries)
* Liberty! (1997 documentary series)
* Liberty's Kids (2002 animated series)
* John Adams (2001 book
* 2008 miniseries)
* John and Abigail Adams (2006 documentary film)
* Sons of Liberty (2015 miniseries)
* Franklin (2024 miniseries)

Related|

* "Adams and Liberty" campaign song
* Adams' personal library
* American Enlightenment
* Congress Hall
* Federalist Party
* Federalist Era
* First Party System
* republicanism
* American Philosophical Society
* Gazette of the United States
* The American Museum
* American Revolution
* patriots
* Founding Fathers

Adams political family|

* Abigail Adams
* wife
* Quincy political family
* Abigail Adams Smith (daughter)
* John Quincy Adams
* son
* presidency
* Charles Adams (son)
* Thomas Boylston Adams (son)
* George Washington Adams (grandson)
* Charles Francis Adams Sr. (grandson)
* John Adams II (grandson)
* John Quincy Adams II (great-grandson)
* Henry Adams (great-grandson)
* Brooks Adams (great-grandson)
* John Adams Sr. (father)
* Susanna Boylston (mother)
* Samuel Adams (second cousin)
* Louisa Adams (daughter-in-law, first lady)

* ← George Washington
* Thomas Jefferson →

* Thomas Jefferson →

* Category

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U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts

Topics|

* Contributing property
* Keeper of the Register
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Other lists|

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