Quincy, United States

Quincy ( KWIN-see), 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.

Quincy's location along the Mississippi River has attracted settlers for centuries. The French became the first European presence to colonize the region, after Louis Jolliet, Jacques Marquette, Jamison Knapp and the La Salle Expeditions explored the Upper Mississippi River Valley. Fur goods became a valuable commodity of the region, and European explorers and merchants alike were attracted to the prospects of the growing fur trade of the North American frontier. The Mississippi River, acting as a superhighway for transporting goods downstream, became the area's most vital transportation asset.