Quincy

Quincy 1 City (1990 pop. 39,681), seat of Adams co., W Ill., on a bluff above the Mississippi; inc. 1839. It is a trade, industrial (steel parts), and distribution center in a grain and livestock area. The city and county were named for John Quincy Adams . Quincy has a good harbor and was an important river port in the mid-19th cent. Before the Civil War it was the scene of several proslavery-abolitionist struggles. The sixth Lincoln-Douglas debate was held there on Oct. 13, 1858. Quincy Univ. is in the city.

2 City (1990 pop. 84,985), Norfolk co., E Mass., a suburb of Boston, on Boston Bay; settled 1634, set off from Braintree 1792, inc. as a city 1888. It has plants that make power transmissions, machinery, soaps, textile products, detergents, and chemicals. The Plymouth Colony broke up (1627) a trading post established (1625) in the area by Thomas Morton , but a new settlement began in 1634. Ironworks began operation in 1644, and Quincy's famed granite started to be quarried in 1750. The first railroad tracks in the United States were laid in Quincy in 1826. The city's large shipyards were of great importance in both world wars. Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams were born in Quincy. They and their wives are buried in the First Parish Church (built 1828), which, along with their homes and birthplaces, is part of the Adams National Historical Park (see National Parks and Monuments , table). John Hancock also was born there. Eastern Nazarene College is in the city.

Quincy, USA 1. Illinois: settled in 1822 as Bluffs, it was renamed three years later on the day that John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) became the sixth president of the USA (1825–9). He was born at nearby Braintree.2. Massachusetts: settled as Mount Wollaston in 1625 and later renamed Merry Mount. When it became a town in 1792 it was renamed after Colonel John Quincy (1689–1767), a prominent local figure.