Draft:Adams House


1. Adams House

Adams House is a historic diplomatic residence in The Hague, associated with the early presence of the United States of America in The Netherlands. The building is linked to John Adams, who served as the first diplomat to the Dutch Republic in the late 18th century and played a pivotal role in securing Dutch recognition of American independence and financial support during the American Revolutionary War.

Located in the political and royal capital, The Hague, Adams House is regarded as one of the earliest sites connected to American diplomacy in Europe. Although its precise use has evolved over time, the property is associated with Adams’s diplomatic mission and the establishment of formal relations between the United States and The Netherlands. The house is also part of the broader landscape of The Hague as a center for international diplomacy and governance.

Today, Adams House is widely recognized for its symbolic importance in Dutch-U.S. relations and is frequently cited in early accounts of American diplomatic history. Its’ legacy reflects the Netherlands’ role as one of the first countries to recognize the United States of America and highlights the foundations of centuries-old bilateral relations.

2. History

Estate Zorgvliet

The U.S. Ambassador’s Residence at Tobias Asserlaan is located on the former Zorgvliet Estate, originally an area of 22 hectares (54 acres). Senior government official and poet Jacob Cats founded the Zorgvliet estate in 1643. In 1652 in the middle of “Zorgvliet,” he built a residence for himself which was known as the “Catshuis.” It is currently used as the residence of the Dutch Prime Minister. The Prince of Orange, the future King William II, became the owner of the Zorgvliet Estate in 1837 and the estate subsequently was inherited in 1865 by his daughter Princess Sofie, who was married to the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar.

In 1903, six years after Princess Sofie’s death, the estate transferred to the real estate company “Park Zorgvliet.” The head of the company, Adriaan Eliza Herman Goekoop kept the “Catshuis” for himself. Between 1910 and 1919,“Park Zorgvliet” started to divide up the southern part of the estate into lots to develop a villa park, described by the company as “the most beautiful villa park of the continent.” Architect Z. Hoek, together with Professor Karl Henrici from Aachen, designed the villa park. On one part of Zorgvliet Estate, the Carnegie Foundation built the Peace Palace (1913). In 1913, the city council of The Hague officially decided that a street in the new villa park would be named “Tobias Asserlaan,” after Tobias Michaël Carel Asser (1838-1913), a famous Dutch jurist. He was co-winner of the 1911 Nobel Prize for Peace for his role in the formation of the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the first Hague Peace Conference in 1899.

The Villa Van den Bergh

One of the first villas on Tobias Asserlaan was built by Arnold Simon van den Bergh, a Jewish margarine manufacturer from Oss. His company, Unie Margarine, later became part of Van den Bergh and Jurgens, which was sold to Lever Brothers in 1930, to become “Unilever.” His villa, Villa Van den Bergh, was known as “Het Botervlootje” (“the butter dish”) and was built in 1914 at Tobias Asserlaan 2. His villa has been used as the Japanese Embassy since 1973. In 1917, he acquired the land next to “Het Botervlootje,” the lot on which the American Ambassador’s residence now stands. Arnold van den Bergh died in 1932. His heirs sold the undeveloped piece of land next to Villa Van den Bergh in 1936 to the Anglo-Dutch Banking and Trading Company.

The Development of Tobias Asserlaan 4

In 1936 the Anglo-Dutch Banking and Trading Company developed a plan to build a villa with garage and loggias for the commissioner of the company, Mr. H.F. Heye. The design was by architect T. Merrill with assistance from W.Wouters. The exterior style was imitation French classic and the interior English country style. On June 22, 1938, the first inhabitants came to live in the villa: Mr. Hans Ferdinand Christiaan Heye, with his wife and two children.

After the German occupation in 1940, Mr. Franz Wehofsich, a geography professor from Graz and one of the few friends of Reichskommisar Seyss Inquart, the German leader in the Netherlands, came to live in the house. Mr. Wehofsich was very much engaged in cultural cooperation between the Netherlands and Germany, and co-founder of the Nederlands-Duitse Kultuurgemeenschap.

Mr. Wehofsich’s villa was called “Tubantia” after a Germanic tribe that lived in the eastern part of the Netherlands in Roman times. In July 1942 Mr. Wehofsich left for the Front, and the house was occupied by the German Army (Wehrmacht). Since Tobias Asser was Jewish, the street name was changed between 1943 and 1945 into Bollandlaan, after linguist and philosopher Professor Gerard Bolland (1854-1922).

3. The Ambassador’s Residence

After World War II, the house was confiscated by the government of the Netherlands. The U.S. Embassy first rented the house in 1945. Two years later, the U.S. government purchased the house for 320,000 guilders ($120,625). At the time of the sale, Army Attaché, Col. Frank M.S. Johnson was living in the house. Although U.S. Ambassador Herman B. Baruch signed the deed in 1947, he resided at Lange Voorhout 32 until renovations allowed his successor, Ambassador Selden Chapin, to move to Tobias Asserlaan 4 in 1949. In 1948 and 1950, additions to the Residence were made, designed by architect Frits Adolf Eschauzier. The loggia and a part of the garage were changed into a dining room, and a connecting room was built between the new and the existing dining room. The front of the house was also slightly changed.

4. Architecture & Design

The Fireplace at the Residence

John Adams was the first American envoy to The Hague, and his portrait hangs above the fireplace at the Residence. When John Adams became President of the U.S. (1797- 1801), he was the first President to occupy the residence which much later would become known as the “White House” in Washington D.C. He wrote the following benediction in a letter to his wife Abigail the day after he moved into the White House on November 2, 1800:

I Pray Heaven to Bestow The best of Blessings on THIS HOUSE and on All that shall hereafter inhabit may none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof

In 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had this inscription lettered in gold in the marble over the fireplace in the State Dining Room of the White House. To honor John Adams as the first Ambassador to the Netherlands, the same text was put over the fireplace at the Ambassador’s Residence by Ambassador Philip Young.

5. Rededication

On April 20th, 2026, United States Ambassador Joseph V. Popolo Jr. rededicated the historic American Ambassador’s Residence in The Hague, reaffirming the enduring friendship and diplomatic partnership between the United States and the Netherlands. The ceremony celebrated both the preservation of the residence’s historic character and its continued role as a center for diplomacy, cultural exchange, and transatlantic cooperation. During the event, Popolo reflected on the deep historical ties between the two nations, dating back to Dutch recognition of American independence in the eighteenth century, and emphasized the importance of maintaining strong collaboration on shared democratic values, security, trade, and international engagement.

6. Notable Personnel

John Adams John Adams served as the American ambassador to the Netherlands during the Revolutionary War, playing a critical role in securing international support for the newly independent United States. Arriving in the Netherlands in 1780, Adams worked tirelessly to persuade Dutch leaders and bankers to recognize American independence and provide financial assistance to the struggling nation. His efforts were successful: in 1782, the Netherlands officially recognized the United States, becoming one of the first countries to do so. Adams also negotiated important loans from Dutch financiers, which helped stabilize the American economy during and after the war. His diplomatic achievements in the Netherlands strengthened the legitimacy of the United States on the world stage and demonstrated his skill as one of America’s earliest diplomats.

United States Ambassadors to the Netherlands

Selden Chapin (1949-1953) H. Freeman Matthews (1953-1957) Philip Young (1957-1960) John S. Rice (1961-1964) William R. Tyler (1965-1969) J. William Middendorf II (1969-1973) Kingdon Gould, Jr (1973-1976) Robert J. McCloskey (1976-1978) Geri M. Joseph (1978-1981) William J. Dyess (1981-1983) L. Paul Bremer III (1983-1986) John Shad (1987-1989) C. Howard Wilkins (1989-1992) K. Terry Dornbush (1994-1998) Cynthia P. Schneider (1998-2001) Clifford M. Sobel (2001-2005) Roland E. Arnall (2006-2008) James B. Culbertson (2008-2009) Fay Hartog Levin (2009–2011) Timothy Broas (2014–2016) Pete Hoekstra (2018–2021) Shefali Razdan Duggal (2022–2025) Joseph Popolo Jr. (2025-Present)

References

Eschner, Kat. “John Adams Was the United States’ First Ambassador as Well as Its Second President.” Smithsonian.Com, Smithsonian Institution, 19 Apr. 2017, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/john-adams-was-united-states-first-ambassador-well-its-second-president-180962891/.

Haags Gemeente Archief, May 1984 ; Memo Mickey Warners, 1977; U.S. Embassy Website

Sites Relating to US History in the Netherlands Ranked by Theme, 20 Aug. 2013, nl.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/168/2024/06/Sites-of-memory-Ranked-by-Theme-2013-8.pdf.

“U.S.-DUTCH RELATIONS.” US EMBASSY AND CONSULATE GENERAL IN THE NETHERLANDS , nl.usembassy.gov/history-of-u-s-dutch-relations/. Accessed 10 May 2026.

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