Buried: United First Parish Church (Church of the Presidents), Quincy, Massachusetts
Second President - 1797-1801
Born: October 30, 1735, in Quincy, Massachusetts
Died: 6:00 p.m. on July 4, 1826, in Quincy, Massachusetts
Age at death: 90
Cause of death: Heart failure and pneumonia Final words: “Thomas Jefferson still survives.” Admission to United First Parish Church: $4.00
In 1797, John Adams stepped into the historical shoes of the venerable George Washington. Though he succeeded a legend, Adams could lay claim to one notable “first” of his own: he was the first president to occupy the White House. He and his wife Abigail moved into the unfinished President’s House, as it was then known, in the new capital city called Washington in 1800.
The second president had another distinction as well: he was the father and namesake of our sixth president, John Quincy Adams.
As president, John Adams had little trust in the masses; in truth, he was a political party of one. Defeated by Thomas Jefferson in 1800, Adams had more time for his solitary pursuits: leisurely walks and books. He retreated to the family home in Quincy, Massachusetts, where he harbored animosity toward his successor. For the next twenty-five years, Adams consumed the written word. When his eyesight failed and he could no longer read, he found others to read aloud to him. After a time, he renewed active correspondence with Thomas Jefferson. Though the two men had bitter political differences during their careers, they reconciled in retirement. Fate dictated that any distance between them would be bridged in death.
Marker for John Adams outside the crypt in Quincy’s United First Parish Church (Church of the Presidents)
July 4, 1826 was an important day for the surviving founders—the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Ninety years old and in failing health, John Adams declined all requests to participate in the holiday celebrations. Instead, he stayed home with his family. That afternoon, he lost consciousness and died of heart failure complicated by pneumonia. Adams’s last words were “Thomas Jefferson still survives….” He had it wrong, however. Amazingly, Jefferson had himself died just a few hours earlier.
John Adams was buried alongside his wife Abigail at the United First Parish Church in Quincy, Massachusetts. President John Quincy Adams, his son, and wife Louisa were later buried at the same site.
Touring John Adams’s Tomb at United First Parish Church
United First Parish Church (Church of the Presidents) is located in Quincy, Massachusetts, about ten miles south of Boston.
From Boston: Take Interstate 93 or Route 128 South. Take exit 7, onto Route 3 South to Braintree and Cape Cod. Take the first exit off Route 3 South, marked exit 18 for Washington Street. Continue on Burgin Parkway through six traffic lights. At the seventh light, turn right onto Dimmock Street. Go one block and take a right onto Hancock Street. The church is located at 1306 Hancock Street.
The church is also accessible via the Metropolitan Boston Transit Authority’s subway system. From Boston, take the red line train to the Quincy Center station. Go right when exiting the train and continue up the stairs. Take a left at the top of the stairs and exit onto Hancock Street. The church is located at 1306 Hancock Street.
The Adams family graves are located in the basement crypt. To reach the crypt after entering the church through the main doors, take a right, go down the stairs, and take a left.
Guided tours of the crypt are also available for $5.00, beginning at the Adams National Historical Park Visitors Center, located at 1250 Hancock Street. The tour also includes the John Adams birthplace and the Adams family home. Tours operate from April 19 through November 10, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $5.00, free for those under sixteen.
A view from inside the Adams tomb
For additional information
United First Parish Church (Church
of the Presidents)
1306 Hancock Street (Quincy Center)
Quincy, MA 02169
Phone: (617) 773-0062
Fax: (617) 773-7499
www.ufpc.org
Adams National Historical Park
Visitors Center
1250 Hancock Street
Quincy, MA 02169
Phone: (617) 773-1177
Fax: (617) 847-3015
www.nps.gov/adam/
“Adams did not fear the great beyond.”
—Richard Norton Smith
“Old age is a shipwreck,” mused Charles De Gaulle. For John Adams, the shoals came sharply into view in October, 1818, when his beloved Abigail, “the dear Partner of my Life for 54 Years and for many Years more as a Lover,” died from typhoid fever. “I wish I could lie down beside her and die too,” said the grieving husband. And what did he expect to find when his wish was granted? The ancient patriot told his son, John Quincy, that he had “the compatible prospect of dying peaceably in my own bed, surrounded by amiable and affectionate children, kind neighbors, and excellent friends.” On the other hand, “I should not like to Live in the Millennium. It would be the most sickish life imaginable.”
Having outlived his revolutionary contemporaries, Adams did not fear the great beyond. He quoted his old friend and sparring partner, Benjamin Franklin, who said, “We are all invited to a great entertainment. Your carriage comes first to the door: but we should all meet there.”
The United First Parish Church, the final resting place for John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams
The carriage came for Adams on July 4, 1826. Not until 1891, however, was his crypt beneath Quincy’s Unitarian church, now known as the Church of the Presidents or the Adams Temple, open to the public.
—RNS