Built on the site of the birthplace of legendary patriot John Hancock - and funded by an endowment left by John Adams - Adams Academy began its life in 1872 as a boys' preparatory school, which operated until 1908. In 1972, the building was renovated by the Quincy Historical Society and is now home to the new Quincy History Museum. The museum's exhibit - titled Quincy: Of Stone, Of Ships, of Minds, offers a comprehensive look at the city's history from Native American times up through the early 21 st century.

Hours:
Museum/Gift shop: Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday Noon to 4 p.m.

Library:
Monday and Wednesday, 9 a.m. to Noon, Friday 1 to 4 p.m.

Admission:
$3

Adams Academy/Quincy Historical Society
8 Adams Street
Quincy, MA 02169
617-773-1144

www.quincyhistory.org

This charming colonial estate - parts of which date to 1685 - was home to generations of Quincys, one of Massachusetts' leading families whose descendants included President John Quincy Adams and Oliver Wendell Holmes.The estate was also the childhood home of Dorothy Quincy, wife of John Hancock, the first signer of the Declaration of Independence and first governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. During the pre-Revolutionary War years, the Quincy Homestead was a meeting place for patriots such as John Adams, Josiah Quincy, Benjamin Franklin and Hancock.  

Hours:
Open May to mid-October

Tours:
By appointment; contact the Colonial Dames of Massachusetts at
617-742-3190, M-F, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Dorothy Quincy Homestead
34 Butler Road (corner of Hancock St. and Butler Rd.)
Quincy, MA 02169
617-742-3190
www.nscda.org/ma/quincy_homestead.htm

For more than 200 years, Quincy's most illustrious residents and civic leaders were buried in historic Hancock Cemetery. Located across the street from First Parish Church -- where John Hancock's father served as minister - Hancock Cemetery is the final resting place of Henry Adams, the first Adams to live in Quincy and ancestor of John Adams; Colonel John Quincy, for whom the city is named; patriot Josiah Quincy and other notable historical figures.

Hours: Open daily

Admission: Free

Hancock Cemetery
Hancock St. (next door to City Hall, 1305 Hancock)
Quincy, MA 02169

Quincy's proud shipbuilding history comes to life at the USS Salem, a Cold War-era heavy cruiser that serves as home to the United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum. Located on the site of the former Quincy shipyard where she was built, the Salem offers visitors a chance to experience life on the former flagship of the U.S. Sixth Fleet.

Hours:
June - September:
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily
Winter:
Weekends, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Admission:
$5

USS Salem
739 Washington St.
Quincy, MA   02169
617-479-7900
www.uss-salem.org/

Josiah Quincy House : Built in 1770 as a country estate by revolutionary patriot Colonel Josiah Quincy, this colonial home is believed to have served as a lookout point from which patriots could observe British ships traveling in and out of Boston harbor. Colonel Quincy was the first in a long line of Josiah Quincys - a line that would produce three mayors of Boston and a president of Harvard University.

Hours:
Tours available June 1 - October 15 by appointment

Call 617-227-3956 for reservation/admission information.

Josiah Quincy House
20 Muirhead St.
Quincy, MA   02170
617-227-3957 x 256
www.spnea.org/visit/homes/quincy.htm

Granite Railway/Quarry Exhibits: Quincy is home to America's first commercial railway - the Granite Railway, built in 1826 specifically to transport Quincy granite to Charlestown for the construction of the Bunker Hill Monument. The remains of the Railway's incline are located at the end of Mullin Ave. in West Quincy.   Granite quarrying exhibits are also on display in the Presidents Place Galleria, 1250 Hancock St., Quincy Center.

Granite Railway/Quarry Museum
Mullin Ave.
Quincy, MA

Quarry Exhibits
Presidents Place Galleria
(Near Adams National Historical Park Visitor Center)
1250 Hancock St.
Quincy, MA  02169
781-326-0079

This stone cairn atop Quincy's Penn's Hill marks the spot where Abigail Adams and young John Quincy Adams watched the burning of Charlestown during the Battle of Bunker Hill. The site is free and open to the public.

Abigail Adams Cairn
Penn's Hill at Viden Road
Quincy, MA 02169

This wooded area located at the intersection of East Squantum St. and Quincy Shore Dr. was the seat of the Indian chief Chickatabot, who was visited by Captain Myles Standish and the Indian guide Squanto in 1621.   The hummock's name - Moswetuset, or "hill shaped like an arrowhead" - is believed to be the origin of the commonwealth's name, "Massachusetts." The site is free and open to the public.

Moswetuset Hummock
Corner of East Squantum St. and Quincy Shore Dr.
Quincy, MA 02171

Built in 1881 by noted architect Henry Hobson Richardson - who also designed Boston's famed Trinity Church - the Thomas Crane Public Library's original building is a masterpiece of 19 th century Romanesque architecture.   Its ornate woodwork and LaFarge stained glass windows are truly works of art. Since the library opened in 1882, several additions have been constructed, including a multimillion-dollar addition in 2001 that combines the architectural spirit of the original Richardson building with the technological capabilities of a 21 st century library.

Hours:
M-Th, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Friday & Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m.

Admission is free

Thomas Crane Public Library
40 Washington St.
Quincy, MA 02169
617-376-1301
www.thomascranelibrary.org