Adams County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,737. Its county seat is Quincy. Adams County is part of the Quincy, IL–MO Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Quincy, known as Illinois's "Gem City", is a city in and the county seat of Adams County, Illinois, United States, located on the Mississippi River. The 2020 census counted a population of 39,463 in the city itself, down from 40,633 in 2010. As of July 1, 2015, the Quincy Micro Area had an estimated population of 77,220. During the 19th century, Quincy was a thriving transportation center as riverboats and rail service linked the city to many destinations west and along the river. It was Illinois' second-largest city, surpassing Peoria in 1870. The city has several historic districts, including the Downtown Quincy Historic District and the South Side German Historic District, which display the architecture of Quincy's many German immigrants from the late 19th century.
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and also in Texas through subsidiaries Colorado and Southern Railway, Fort Worth and Denver Railway, and Burlington-Rock Island Railroad. Its primary connections included Chicago, Minneapolis–Saint Paul, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Denver. Because of this extensive trackage in the midwest and mountain states, the railroad used the advertising slogans "Everywhere West", "Way of the Zephyrs", and "The Way West".
Quincy Media, Inc., formerly known as Quincy Newspapers, Inc., was a family-owned media company that originated in the newspapers of Quincy, Illinois. The company's history can be traced back to 1835, when the Bounty Land Register was one of four newspapers in Illinois. Over the next century, a number of mergers followed. The company moved into radio in 1947 and began television broadcasts in 1953.
Quincy University (QU) is a private Franciscan university in Quincy, Illinois. It was founded in 1860 and enrolls about 1,100 students.
The Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg are a pair of passenger trains operated by Amtrak on a 258-mile (415 km) route between Chicago and Quincy, Illinois. As Illinois Service trains, they are partially funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation. Between Chicago and Galesburg, Illinois, the trains share their route with the California Zephyr and Southwest Chief; the remainder of the route (Galesburg–Quincy) is served exclusively by the Illinois Zephyr/Carl Sandburg.
John Wood was the 12th governor of Illinois, serving from March 18, 1860, to January 14, 1861. Wood was a founder and the first settler of Quincy, Illinois.
WSEC is a PBS member television station licensed to Jacksonville, Illinois, United States. Owned by Southern Illinois University, it is a sister station to WSIU-TV in Carbondale. WSEC's transmitter is located south of Franklin, Illinois; master control and most internal operations are based on the SIU campus in Carbondale.
Forgottonia, also spelled Forgotonia, is the name given to a 16-county region in Western Illinois in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This geographic region forms the distinctive western bulge of Illinois that is roughly equivalent to "The Tract", the Illinois portion of the Military Tract of 1812, along and west of the Fourth Principal Meridian. Since this wedge-shaped region lies between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, it has historically been isolated from the eastern portion of Central Illinois.
Quincy Senior High School is the regional public high school for Quincy, Illinois. It is the largest high school in Adams County, Illinois, and the only high school in Quincy Public School District 172.
Ellington Township is one of twenty-two townships in Adams County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,820 and it contained 1,140 housing units. The southwest corner of the township is now part of Quincy Township.
Fowler is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Gilmer Township, Adams County, Illinois, United States and is located near Quincy. It is part of the Quincy, IL–MO Micropolitan Statistical Area. U.S. Route 24 passes through the center of town as well as the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad. Interstate 172 begins two miles west of Fowler.
James Dada Morgan was a merchant sailor, soldier, businessman, and a Union General during the American Civil War. He commanded a division of infantry in some of the final campaigns in the Western Theater.
Archibald Williams was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. Williams was a friend and political ally of President Abraham Lincoln.
The Quincy Gems are a collegiate summer league baseball team located in Quincy, Illinois.
The Quincy Gems was the primary name of the minor league baseball team in Quincy, Illinois, that played in various seasons from 1883 to 1973.
The Chicago and Aurora Railroad was an early predecessor of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad that built a line from West Chicago to Mendota via Aurora, Illinois.
Nehemiah H. Bushnell was an American attorney, railroad president, and politician from Connecticut. A graduate of Yale University and the Harvard School of Law, Bushnell settled in Quincy, Illinois to practice law with Orville H. Browning. He was named the president of the Northern Cross Railroad and facilitated its integration into the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. He was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1872, but died only weeks into its first session. He is the namesake of Bushnell, Illinois.
The American Central Railway was originally named the Western Air Line Railroad. The American Central Railway was incorporated on February 21, 1859, as a name change of the Western Air Line Railroad. The Western Airline had not laid any track prior to 1859. In 1868, work was started on a 50.59 mile line from Galva, Illinois to New Boston, Illinois. Work was completed in October 1869.
The Old Colony Street Railway Company was a horse-drawn and electric streetcar railroad operated on the streets of Boston, Massachusetts and communities south of the city. Founded in 1881 as the Brockton Street Railway Company, via lease and merger it became a primary mass transit provider for southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Its immediate successor was the Bay State Street Railway, and its modern successor is the state-run Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA).
