From the back cover Charles E. Peterson, FAIA, FAPT, FSAH, retired from the National Park Service in 1962 and opened a private consulting practice. One of his projects was a physical study of the Adams Mansion commissioned by Ronald F. Lee, Regional Director of the Park Service. Part of the fabric was in danger of collapse. This study begins well before the Adams ownership. The Mansion was one of several houses in the Boston area built about 1731 by the Vassalls wealthy sugar planters from Jamaica. After the last of them left Boston as Tories in the American Revolution, it was bought by John Adams at a good price. John and Abigail, his wife, returned from diplomatic service abroad in 1788 but they did not stay in residence long. John was elected President of the United States and soon had to report first to Philadelphia and then again to the new White House in Washington. When Adams office term expired the couple moved back to Quincy and there they resided for the rest of their lives. He resumed rural life as a farmer and enjoyed developing the Mansion property as well as nearby tracts. Abigail died in 1818 and John in 1826. John Quincy Adams was the next of the dynasty,as succeeded by Charles Francis Adams, who, in turn, was followed by Brooks Adams. Brooks married an heiress from Medford. That somewhat eccentric pair traveled extensively in Europe where they studied and collected antiques. Altogether the Adams family use of the Mansion adds up to a very complicated story needing further work. This study is the first serious one by an architect. I acknowledge great assistance from Superintendent Wilhelmina Harris. My contribution was a detailed recording of the Mansion by an architectural student team headed by George Winterowd. This was made to the Library of Congress HABS standards. Large format photographs were made by the eminent photographer Cervin Robinson of New York; a complete collection of his work is included here. As Site Superintendent Mrs. Harris gave me help with records compiled by Helen Nelson. The Adams Family Papers in the Massachusetts Historical Society were opened to me by Doctor Louis Leonard Tucker, the Director. I have had the help and encouragement of many other persons and I hope that this little volume will be augmented in the future. Credit should also go to the publishers, Ross & Perry, Inc., of Washington DC who already have reprinted the ten volume set of The Life and Works of John Adams, written by his Grandson, Charles Francis Adams, and the two volume set of A Cycle of Adams Letters edited by Worthington Chauncey Ford. Keywords: The Adams Mansion,president,John Adams,Quincy Massacusetts,Ronald F. Lee,Brooks,Adams, Charles Franise Adams,Wilhelmina Harris,Cervin Robinson,Major Leonard Vassall,Braintree,National Park Service,

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