Quincy
A historic town on the
banks of the mighty Mississippi
At the end of Illinois Highway 104 in western Illinois lies Quincy, a
Mississippi River town of fine old houses and churches, art and architectural
museums, and numerous historic districts. It is also a town that over the years
has been a city of refuge, offering shelter to society's outcasts, including
escaped slaves, uprooted Native Americans and persecuted Mormons.
Quincy’s historic heart is Washington Park. It was here that
founder John Wood laid out the city's original central square in 1825, just
three years after he had arrived from Moravia, N.Y. (The town itself is named
after John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States.) Wood was
elected lieutenant governor of Illinois in 1856, and four
years later, when William Henry Bissell died in office, he became governor. A
bronze statue of Wood stands at the entrance to the park.
There are other Wood sites in town. The John Wood Mansion, at 425 S. 12th St., was originally
constructed in 1835 and completed in 1838. It has since been restored and is
considered one of the Midwest's finest examples of the Greek revival
style. Wood himself is buried in Woodland Cemetery, at 5th and
Jefferson Streets, in a peaceful setting on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi. A stone path
leads to the gravesite.
Washington Park is historically
significant for other reasons. The sixth of the seven Lincoln-Douglas debates
took place here on Oct. 13, 1858. Some 15,000
people attended the political debate, watching Abraham Lincoln and Stephen
Douglas duke it out in their spirited campaign to capture the U.S. Senate seat
for Illinois. (Lincoln, of course,
ultimately lost, but went on to bigger things.)
In 1908 a granite boulder was placed on the site where the famous debate
occurred. The boulder was later moved a few feet away to make way for an
impressive bronze bas relief sculpture by Lorado Taft, which was erected in
1936. The sculpture depicts a standing Lincoln and a seated Douglas, the former
with his right hand firmly planted on a pedestal, as the crowd looks on in the
background.
Near the bandstand and on the Maine Street side of the park,
a historical marker recounts the story of the Mormons in Quincy. In 1838 they
were forced to flee their home in Missouri when Gov. Lilburn
Boggs issued an "extermination order." They sought the safety of Illinois, crossing the
river at Quincy, where they were
sympathetically received. Joseph Smith, their embattled leader, joined them the
following year. Before long they purchased land in what would later become the
Mormon kingdom of Nauvoo. After Smith's
murder in 1844, the Mormons, now overstaying their Illinois welcome, moved
yet again--this time to stake out a new home out west near the Great Salt Lake.
Across the street from Washington Park is the former
public library, which houses the Gardner Museum of Architecture and Design (332 Maine St.), a handsome
Romanesque building erected in 1888-89. The museum does a terrific job of
bringing the architectural and design heritage of Quincy to life.
Several other important museums in Quincy are worth visiting, including the
Quincy Museum (1601 Maine St.), which hosts traveling exhibits, and the Quincy
Art Center (1515 Jersey St.), which is located on the grounds of the former Lorenzo
Bull mansion and sponsors rotating visual arts exhibitions year-round, with
contemporary Midwestern art as its chief focus.
A short walk from Washington Park, at 415 Jersey St., is the Dr.
Richard Eells House, located behind the Hotel Elkton, which is itself a local
landmark. In the 1840s the Eells House, the oldest standing two-story brick
house in town, was a stop along the Underground Railroad. It is open to the
public by appointment only.
Quincy is home to several historic churches, each
with its own story to tell. In the autumn of 1838, more than 800 Potawatomi
Indians encamped here while en route to Kansas after being
forcibly removed by the government from their home in southern Michigan and northern Indiana. Many of those
attended mass at St. Boniface Church.
A monument on a granite boulder outside the church, located at 7th and Maine, commemorates
their plight. Also outside the church is a marker honoring Father Augustine
Tolton, the nation's first African-American Catholic priest. His first mass in Quincy was said at St.
Boniface, and he is buried in the town's St Peter's Cemetery at 25th and Maine.
Quincy has many landmark buildings and numerous
historic districts. The corner of Maine and 16th Streets
has been hailed for its architectural significance, in the East End Historic
District. This area is especially attractive, with its cobblestone sidewalks
and eclectic architectural styles. Indeed it has been said that houses from
every period and style since 1850 are represented here.
The German Historic District, between 4th and 12th and Adams and Jersey on the south side
of town, was once known as "Calf Town" since
virtually every household had its own calf or cow. The Northwest Historic
District boasts large mansions erected in the late 19th and early 20th
Centuries, many of them built on the bluffs overlooking the river.
Clat Adams Bicentennial Park is located
between Memorial Bridge and Bayview Bridge. This tiny park
has a gazebo and a fountain and a great view of the bridge that leads over the
river to Missouri, which looks like
a midwestern version of the famed Golden Gate Bridge.
Quincy is more than just history and a bunch of
fine buildings. There are plenty of other things to do. Antique hunters are
sure to find bargains in places like the Broadway Antique Mall at 20th and
Broadway, Cottage Antiques at 1500 State St., Jerry's
Wholesale at 407 Hampshire St., June's Antiques
at 121 N. 4th St. and others.
In addition, the town hosts arts-and-crafts shows throughout the year, and there
are bike and walking trails for the athletically inclined. Throughout the
summer months, regional and local blues bands provide outdoor entertainment in Washington Park. Also during the
summer and fall there is a blues festival and an arts festival and architectural
tours. What's more, day trips can be
arranged to Hannibal, Mo., Mark Twain's boyhood home, and historic Nauvoo,
located less than 50 miles north along the Great River Road, is worthy of a
visit all its own.
For a city of just over 40,000 people, Quincy surprisingly has
a handful of truly excellent restaurants. The Pier, an octagonal-shaped
structure built on an old railroad pier 401 Bayview
Drive specializes in seafood, steaks, chops and pastas.
The Pier, which describes its cuisine as "Midwestern with a twist,"
uses locally grown produce. Tiramisu is an excellent Italian eatery located on
the ground floor of a historic building.
Jorge the Crook's serves seafood, chicken, steaks, chops and pasta in an
attractive setting of brick walls, wooden rafters, ceiling fans and modern
artwork. For more casual fare, O'Griff's
Irish Pub & Brewhouse serves burgers, sandwiches and pizza as well as home
brews such as Oatmeal Stout, Blueberry Ale and Strawberry Ale.
Information about Quincy is available from
the Quincy Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, 300 Civic Center Plaza, Suite 237, http://www.quincy-cvb.org. The Villa Kathrine at 532 Gardner Expressway
is a former residence and a unique example of Mediterranean architecture in the
Midwest, it now houses Quincy's Tourist Information Center and is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1-5
p.m. Sunday.