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Peacefield
adapted from the National Park Service
John Adams
acquired the property in 1787, which included a house, a formal garden, a barn, and an orchard, plus over 65 acres of farm land. He
named the farm "Peacefield," and his family soon began referring to the house as "Old House," because it was in need of many repairs
after years of neglect. The house had been passed down through the Vassall-Borland family, and as sympathizers for the British cause,
they fled to England and did not maintain the house through the American Revolution. Upon purchasing it, Adams immediately began
expanding the house; it had consisted of a two-story building facing the street with a detached kitchen in the back and servants quarters.
By 1800, Adams almost doubled the size of the house by building a two and one-half story, L-shaped addition on the east end. The style
of the wing is Georgian, to harmonize with the original building.
Adams hoped to settle down at Peacefield as a farmer, but his many public duties kept him from carrying out that plan until the end of
his presidential term of office. During that time, Abigail Adams, his wife, continued to enlarge the house and manage the farm. After his
retirement from public office, John Adams lived here year-round from 1801 until his death in 1826. Members of the Adams family
occupied the house until 1927.John Adams's descendants donated the historic house, where four generations of the family had lived, to
the United States in 1946.