For thirty years John and Abigail Adams called an ever-expanding piece of land in Southeastern Massachusetts home. Purchased in the autumn of 1787, the couple renovated and added to their newly named farm, Peace field, bit by bit, piece by piece until at its largest their farm encompassed over 600-acres of land throughout present day Quincy and Braintree. Removed from the Massachusetts landscape in the 1870s, John and Abigail’s working farm was replaced by urban city development and the late 19th century gentleman’s country estate of their grandson Charles Francis Adams. This Garden Club of the Back Bay presentation seeks to explore and uncover John and Abigail’s little known farm Peace field.
Laurie Ellen Pazzano is a trained landscape historian specializing in Archival Research, Cultural Landscape and Landscape Assessment Reports, National Register filings and garden history lectures for individuals, non-profit institutions and state and federal agencies throughout the United States. A lifelong Massachusetts resident and avid gardener, Laurie completed an M.A. in History from the University of Massachusetts, Boston and a Landscape Design History Certificate from the Landscape Institute of Harvard University (now the Boston Architectural College) in 2011. Her Landscape Institute Independent Project Thesis, Peace field, 1788-1818: The New England Farm of John and Abigail Adams, received the 2011 Award for Professional Excellence from the New England Landscape Design and History Association alongside a special commendation from Landscape Institute faculty and staff. In 2010 she co-authored with the National Park Service’s Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation, a Cultural Landscape Report for Peacefield, Adams National Historical Park in Quincy, MA.
Garden Club of the Back Bay members will receive written notification of the November 7 meeting, which will take place at The College Club, 44 Commonwealth Avenue. The public is invited, and a $5 donation is requested. You may rsvp at info@gardenclubbackbay.org.
