Quincy Illinois

When John Wood built his first log cabin in 1822 at what is now Front and Delaware Streets, he began a settlement that would become Quincy, Illinois. To the east was a high bluff, and to the west, the Mississippi River. As the town grew, it moved eastward onto the bluff. In Qunicy's early days, the settlers depended on the Mississippi River for their livelihood. Today's residents still depend upon the Mississippi, but now more for transportation and for pleasure. It is difficult today to imagine what the area looked like in those early years. As with many American towns, Quincy has experienced change through the years, dramatic and subtle, both captured here in the unforgettable images of Then & Now: Quincy, Illinois.

Quincy, Illinois, is located on the Mississippi River about 20 miles north of Hannibal, Missouri, and 100 miles west of Springfield, the state capital. Both Quincy and the county in which it lies, Adams, were named for President John Quincy Adams. In 1822, a man named John Wood built a cabin at the foot of what would later become Delaware Street, near the Mississippi River. As more people came, the village grew eastward from that spot. Many German and Irish immigrants came to Quincy, along with pioneers moving from Kentucky and Virginia. These settlers were lured to the area by reports of the lush land called the "Jewel of the West," which was later called "The Gem City." Industrialists came from New York and other Eastern states and built many of the stately homes on Maine Street and the adjacent streets. Early industry in Quincy included pork packing, tobacco processing, paper making, stove making, carriage making, the ice industry, and lumberyards.

Contains the reports of state departments and officials for the preceding fiscal biennium.

Fourth report is accompanied by "Map and profiles of Iowa railroads, 1881".