News Release

Celebrate Independence Day at Adams National Historical Park

Bill Barker, Abigail Schumann, and Sam Goodyear as Thomas Jefferson, Abigail Adams, and John Adams

NPS Photo

News Release Date: June 24, 2024

Contact: Hilary Miller, 617-773-1177

QUINCY, Mass. — Join the National Park Service in celebrating the 4^th of July at Adams National Historical Park with readings of the Declaration of Independence and at the United First Parish Church with a play featuring the letters between John Adams, Abigail Adams, and Thomas Jefferson.

Live public readings of the Declaration of Independence will be held at 10 am and 12 noon on July 4 at the Adams Farm at Penn’s Hill, home of the John Adams and John Quincy Adams Birthplaces, at 141 Franklin Street in Quincy. Meet John Adams, portrayed by Michael Lepage, and lend your voice to the reading of this monumental document. Enjoy a patriotic musical performance by baritone Larry Gall and The Conchords. This program will be held outdoors and is weather-dependent.

A performance of Jefferson & Adams: A Stage Play by Howard Ginsberg will begin at 2 pm at the United First Parish Church, located at 1306 Hancock Street in Quincy. Witness a compelling dramatization of the friendship between John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Abigail Adams. Actors Bill Barker, Sam Goodyear, and Abigail Schumann bring to life the fifty-year relationship – often contentious, sometimes turbulent, and ultimately enduring – of this dynamic trio who hold forth on life, love, and loss in their now famous correspondence.

These events are free to the public and do not require registration. Free, validated parking is available at the Adams National Historical Park Visitor Center through the Presidents Place parking garage at 44 Saville Avenue in Quincy. Limited street parking is available at the Adams Farm at Penn’s Hill (the John Adams and John Quincy Adams Birthplaces) and the Old House at Peace field. The park provides a free trolley to transport visitors on a loop between the Visitor Center, the Adams Farm at Penn’s Hill, and the Old House at Peace field. Visitors using the trolley should leave ample time to travel between park sites.

The Adams National Historical Park Visitor Center and historic Adams homes are open Wednesdays through Sundays, May 1 through October 31. Guided and self-guided tours are available. Access to the interior of the historic homes requires an entrance pass. Entrance passes and tour reservations can be acquired in advance online at recreation.gov or on a first-come, first-served basis at the Visitor Center at 1250 Hancock Street in Quincy. Park grounds are open daily dawn to dusk and are free to visit. For information regarding tours and programming, call the Visitor Center at 617-770-1175 or visit the park website.

About Adams National Historical Park. Adams National Historical Park includes the birthplaces of the second and sixth presidents of the United States, John Adams and John Quincy Adams, along with the Old House at Peace field, home to both presidents and four generations of their distinguished family.