Quincy

Quincy Quincy. 1 kwint ´se [key] 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.; many historic buildings are in the city. 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 kwin ´ze [key] 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. Ironwo rks 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. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. Political Geography