Built in 1946. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. 17 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1893.
From the record
“Adams National Historical Park, formerly Adams National Historic Site, in Quincy, Massachusetts, preserves the homes of United States presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, U.S. envoy to Great Britain, Charles Francis Adams, and of writers and historians Henry Adams and Brooks Adams.”
Wikipedia article Adams National Historical Park, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 342 National Register listings published here for Norfolk County · listed in 1966 · category: District · built in 1946.
National Register reference number.66000051- the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.
Such was the first recorded visit of Huropeans to Quincy, and the name of the peninsula which the party visited still stands as a memorial of the event. That it was then called Squantum is not certain, though the explorers not improbably did at that time vive those names of Allerton and Brewster, which they have borne ever since, to points in the bay.
At the time of Standish's visit the territory since called Quincy was occupied by a poor remnant of the Massachusetts tribe of Indians, some forty to sixty in number. The them. Some years before he had dwelt at Mount Wollaston, which had then been cleared and cultisachem Chickatabot ruled over vated, and the shell-heaps still to be found thereabouts indicate that it was a favorite Indian resort. North of Mount Wollaston, and between it and the Neponset, in that region since locally known as '"' The Farms," was, and still is, a broad, open plain called the flourishing days of the tribe to have been its gather- their time in games and feasting. Indeed, the name of the tribe is supposed to have been derived from the small savin-crowned hummock, lying between the Fields and Squantum, and bearing in its shape some more or less fanciful resemblance to an arrow's head.* It would thus appear that not only was the name of the commonwealth derived from a spot within the limits of Quincy, but it was within those limits also that the Massachusetts tribe found that common gathering-place which was to them what the Isthmian fields were to the Greeks. The eastern slope of the Blue Hills and the shores of Quincy Bay were the cradle, the home, and the grave of the race.
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The
federal wildfire occurrence database
lists 243 fires within 5 miles of Adams National Historic Site
between 2015 and 2020, burning about 110 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson.
Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted
here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
Reported cause
Fires
Recreation and ceremony
157
Smoking
36
Debris and open burning
22
Missing data/not specified/undetermined
22
Misuse of fire by a minor
3
Fireworks
2
Equipment and vehicle use
1
The most recent of
them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service
that recorded it.
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. Museums hold 11,552 specimens
collected within 10 miles of Adams National Historic Site between 1810 and 1975: 5,337 Plantae, 2,875 Fungi, 2,708 Animalia, 352 Chromista, 195 Protozoa, 55 Unrecorded, 30 Bacteria.
12 distinct Species records are shown.
Collected by (MARSDEN, H W), ?, A C Gibson and others. Each is a
physical object with a catalogue
number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was
collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be
concluded from a species being absent.
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists
3 workings within 5 miles of Adams National Historic Site: 2 producers, 1 past producer.
2 still produce. What was taken out: Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the
map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring
settlement's page as well.
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The National Weather Service names
Quincy, the town this property stands in, in 29 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 10 thunderstorm wind, 8 flood, 5 flash flood, 3 hail.
No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office
filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date
opens the federal record of that event.
Several streets in the area of Quincy, Braintree, and Milton were flooded with one to two feet of water. One car was stuck in flood waters at Granite and Chickatawbut Roads in Quincy.
In Quincy, a tree was down on a car at the intersection of Evans Street and West Squantum Street. A person was trapped and extricated, but fortunately was uninjured. Police report relayed by amateur radio.
United States Geological Survey topographic
sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then
testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.
When this property was proposed for the
National Register, someone wrote the case for it: what the building is,
and why it matters. That document is a federal record in the public domain.
It is quoted below word for word, never summarised. The text was read off the scanned case file by machine, so the
occasional stray character is the recogniser's and the 1970s
typewriter's.
Description of the property
Adams National Historic Site is loeated on 8.45 acres of land in Quincy, Massachusetts. It includes both the Adams site and, since 1972, the Beale estate (3.68 acres) to the west. The site is roughly rectangular and is bounded on the south by Adams Street, on the east by Newport Avenue, and on the north by Furnace Brook Parkway and the back (northern) lot line of the Beale estate. The west boundary is also the Beale lot line. The Adams site is separated from the adjoining Beale estate by a line of mature trees along the oriningl mutual boundary.
Of the many structures that stood on the Adams estate during their 139 years residency, five remain today- The Old House, the home of four generations of Adamses, is the oldest auplosimaee mtdp fota o pohe Adamsh Stpeepe ty sout frn beuedorylyioe Adane streee tabrake is located just to the northwest of the Old House at the edge of a formal garden, while the Carriage House and Woodshed lie on a slight rise along the eastern boundary. The Greenhouse is close to the northern boundary line not far from the northeast corner of the site where Furnace Brook Parkway and Newport Avenue intersect. In the approximate center of the original Beale property is the Beale House, to the northeast of which is the Beale Carriage House.
The setting of the Adams site, once entirely rural, has ehanged considerably to a suburban, almost urban, one. The immediate vicinity to the site is moderately dense residential. The farm of John Adams' day has assumed the aspect of a country estate with the extensive lawns, gardens and large trees on the grounds serving as a buffer between the Old House and the bounding streets.
/ARCHITECT STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Adams National Historic Site in Quincy, Massachusetts, is significant as the home of four generations of the Adams family (1788-1927) who, over a period of 139 years, played a leading role in the development of the American nation. Distinguished in public service and in literary pursuits, the men of each generation left their stamp on the history of the United States and on this site which was their permanent home. The most important physical resources associated with the significance of the Adams site are: (No. HS 1) the Old House and its furnishing, modified by generations of Adamses; (No. HS 2), the stone Library which contains the impressive and still used collection of the family's books; (No. HS 3) a stone and brick Carriage House; (No.
HS 5) a Greenhouse; and (No. HS 7) a Woodshed. There are, as well, extensive grounds which were carefully tendedby each generation. The adjacent Beale property, now also owned by the NPS, is important in that it maintains the environment familiar to the Adamses. The physical appearance of the Beale property has not changed since the days of John Adams. In addition, the Federal style Beale house is itself of architectural importance. The Old House (No. HSI) is the principal building within the Adams National Historic Site. Its significance rests primarily in its long association with the Adams family and in the fact that it remains now as it was when they departed in 1927.
The house is also of interest architecturally, enlarged to its present configuration by successive genera- tions of the family to accommodate their needs.
Quoted from the National Register nomination
for reference 66000051, 24 pages, held by the National Archives in Record
Group 79. See the
catalogue record.
Listed places nearby
6 within 8 miles
Other National Register properties close
enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both
positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties
to their map sheets.
Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.
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