Quincy is home to a lot of history. Here’s a day to take in plenty of it for free

When a city’s been around for 400 years, odds are there’s a bit of history there and more than a few things to see.

That is certainly the case in the City of Presidents.

Quincy is planning its first Open Heritage Day on Saturday, Sept. 27, as part of the city’s celebration of its 400th anniversary. The free event will be held rain or shine from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is filled with plenty of things to see and do.

Organizers say there will be more than 30 tours, programs and experiences during the day.

Some of the site featuring guided and self-guided tours include Adams National Historic Park, with Peacefield and Adams Farm; the Adams Crypt at United First Parish Church, the Church of the Presidents; the Dorothy Quincy Homestead; Hancock Cemetery; Josiah Quincy House; Quincy Quarry and Granite Workers Museum; the U.S. Naval Shipbuilding Museum and the USS Salem; and the Richardson Building at the Thomas Crane Library.

Other sites, including Old Town Hall Museum and the Quincy Historical Society, will host exhibits and lectures.

Read through the booklet about the weekend here.

Where to get started … or, perhaps, finish Open Heritage Day in Quincy

Organizers recommend visitors get started or finish their day in Quincy Center, which is in close proximity to two parking garages, the Quincy Center MBTA station and the three “Heritage Hubs” associated with Open Heritage Day. The City of Quincy Welcome Center will offer Information about everything Quincy during the day. Adams Crypt at United First Parish Church, the Church of the Presidents, will offer self-guided tours of the final resting places for John and Abigail Adams and John Quincy Adams and Louisa Adams. Hancock Cemetery will offer guided tours of the grounds every 30 minutes. The Richardson Building at the Thomas Crane Library will offer an oral history activity as well as guided tours in English at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m., and in Chinese at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The Old Town Hall Museum will have exhibits and a scavenger hunt.

Open Heritage Day in Quincy has multiple starting points for visitors

Open Heritage Day is built on three “Heritage Hubs” that will offer transportation to other sites in the city: Adams Academy, the Adams National Historic Park Visitor Center and the Coddington Building.

Adams Academy

The Blue Shuttle, departing every 30 minutes, will provide transportation to the Dorothy Quincy Homestead and the Quincy House. The Dorothy Quincy Homestead offers tours of the homestead’s first floor and living history and Colonial spinning demonstrations. The Quincy House offers tours of the home’s first floor and the chance to play Colonial lawn games on the property.

The Orange Shuttle, also departing every 30 minutes, will take visitors to Quincy Quarry and Granite Workers Museum, which offers self-guided tours and has programs on stone sculpting (noon and 2p.m.), stone splitting (11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.) and the geology of Quincy (11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.).

Adams National Historic Park Visitor Center

The Green Trolley, departing every 15 minutes, will take visitors to Adams Farm and Peacefield. Adams Farm will offer self-guided tours and the opportunity to meet reenactors of John and Abigail Adams. Visitors to Peacefield can tour the grounds of the second president’s home on their own or as part of a guided tour.

Coddington Building

The Black Shuttle, departing every 30 minutes will take visitors to the the U.S. Naval Shipbuilding Museum and the USS Salem. Visitors to the shipbuilding museum will allow visitors a chance for a self-guided tour the 717-foot heavy cruiser USS Salem as well as view exhibits in the museum about the USS Newport News, Navy sailors on cruiser ships and ship models.

The Coddington Building Heritage Hub will also be the departure point for special programs shuttles:

• A shuttle will take attendees to Merrymount Park for the “Quincy’s Vulnerable Coastal Cultural Resources” program led by Director and Chief Archaeologist for the Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources David Robinson that addresses a recent statewide assessment of coastal cultural resources, discusses Quincy’s at risk sites and discusses the role of residents in preservation. That shuttle will depart at 10:05 a.m. for the 10:30 a.m. presentation and 1:05 p.m. for the 1:30 p.m. presentation.

• Attendees for “Harnessing Tidal Power: Quincy’s Souther Tide Mill,” a prgram discussing how mills from Nova Scotia to New Jersey used the power of tides to grind grain and cut lumber, can access the Souther Tide Mill site via a shuttle departing at 10:35 a.m. for the 11 a.m. presentation and 2:50 p.m. for the 3 p.m. offering.

• The shuttle for the last special program – “Shipbreaking at Nut Island: 1885 and 1903,” which analyzes the 18 steamships broken up on Nut Island in Houghs Neck during that timeframe – at Houghs Neck Congregational Church departs at 1:35 p.m. for the 2 p.m. presentation.

Some tips from organizers for Open Heritage Day in Quincy

Organizers want attendees to know that in an effort to preserve the historic sites associated with the day, food and drink will not be permitted, and bags will not be allowed inside as well. They also ask attendees to remain patient because the buildings that will be open weren’t designed for large groups of people passing through, so there are some delays expected.

Open Heritage Day in Quincy is rain or shine. What’s the forecast?

Quincy’s first Open Heritage Day will be held rain or shine, and according to the weather department of WCVB-TV, a news partner of The Patriot Ledger, Saturday’s weather looks beautiful. Skies are predicted to be partly cloudy with a low chance of precipitation and temperatures in the low 70s.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Quincy Open Heritage Day: When, where, cost, shuttles, parking, info