1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Quincy (Illinois)

QUINCY, a city and the county-seat of Adams county, Illinois, U.S.A., in the western part of the state, on the Mississippi river, about 105 m. W. of Springfield. Pop. (1890) 31,494; (1900) 36,252, of whom 4961 were foreign-born—3988 being of German birth—and 2029 were negroes; (1910, census) 36,587. Land area (1906), 5.8 sq. m. Quincy is served by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, the Quincy, Omaha & Kansas City, and the Wabash railways, and by lines of river steamers, which find an excellent harbour in Quincy Bay, an arm of the Mississippi. The city is built on the river bluffs, which command an extensive view. In Indian Mounds park, within the city limits and owned by the city, are prehistoric mounds. The Quincy Library, founded in 1837, has been a free public library since 1889. Among the principal public buildings are the Court House and the Federal Government building. The State Soldiers' and Sailors' Home (1887), with grounds covering 222 acres, is in Quincy; one of its fifty-five buildings (Lippincott Memorial Hall) was erected by the veterans of the institution in memory of Charles E. Lippincott, the first superintendent. There is a monument in Quincy in memory of George Rogers Clark, and the homestead (built in 1835) of John Wood, founder of the city, is now owned by the Quincy Historical Society, organized in 1896. Quincy is the seat of St Francis Solanus College (1860) and St Mary's Institute (Roman Catholic); The Chaddock Boys' School (Methodist Episcopal), until 1900 known as Chaddock College; two schools of music; and the Gem City Business College. 'Among the charitable institutions are Blessing Hospital (1875), St Mary's Hospital (1867; in charge of the Sisters of the Poor of St Francis), the Woodland Home for Orphans and Friendless (1853), St Aloysius Orphans' Home (1865), and several homes for the aged and infirm. The city is the seat of a Protestant Episcopal bishop. Quincy is the industrial and commercial centre of a large region. The value of factory products in 1905 was $10,748,224, an increase of 35.7 per cent. since 1900. Among the manufactures are stoves and furnaces, foundry and machine shop products, carriages and wagons, flour and grist mill products, malt liquors, dairymen's and poulterers' supplies, showcases, men's clothing, agricultural implements, saddlery and harness, and lumber.

In 1822 John Wood (1798–1880), the first white settler, built a log cabin here, and in 1825, Quincy, then having less than ten inhabitants, was made the county-seat of Adams county, both town and county being named through Wood's influence in honour of John Quincy Adams. Wood was lieutenant governor of the state in 1857–1860, and acting-governor in 1860–1861. A bronze statue (dedicated in 1883) in his memory stands in Washington Park. There was a general hospital of the United States Army in Quincy during the Civil War. Quincy was incorporated as a town in 1834, and was chartered as a city in 1839.