Adams County is the westernmost

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 65,737. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Quincy. Adams County is part of the Quincy, IL– MO Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Adams County was formed in 1825 out of Pike County. Its name is in honor of the sixth

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...

. File:Adams County Illinois 1825.png, When it was created, Hancock County was temporarily attached to Adams until it could organize a county government. File:Adams County Illinois 1829.png, Adams County reduced to its current borders in 1829.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.9%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Hancock County - north * Brown County - east * Schuyler County - east * Pike County - south *

Marion County, Missouri Marion County is a county located in the northeastern portion of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,525. Its county seat is Palmyra. Unique from most third-class counties in the state, Marion has two county courthouses, t ...

- west * Lewis County, Missouri - west

Public transit

* Quincy Transit Lines * Quincy station * Burlington Trailways * List of intercity bus stops in Illinois

Major highways

* * * * * * * * *

National protected area

* Great River National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Quincy have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1979 and a record high of was recorded in July 2005. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 65,737 people, 27,199 households, and 17,398 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 30,235 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 89.5% white, 3.8% black or African American, 0.8% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.8% from other races, and 4.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.0% of the population. The most common reported ancestries were, German (35.9%), Irish (11.1%), English (8.1%), and American (7.4%). Of the 27,199 households, 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 36.0% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.95. In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.6% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males. The median income for a household in the county was $55,052 and the median income for a family was $72,091. Males had a median income of $41,852 versus $29,404 for females. The per capita income for the county was $31,035. About 9.4% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 17.7% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.

2020 Census

Communities

Unincorporated communities

* Adams * Beverly * Bigneck * Blacks * Bloomfield * Burton * Chatton * Cliola * Country Meadows * Ewbanks * Fall Creek * Fowler * Hickory Grove * Kellerville * Kingston * Marblehead * Marcelline * Meyer * North Quincy * Paloma * Richfield * Rock Creek * Sheridan Estates * Spring Valley * Woodville

Townships

Adams County is divided into twenty-three townships: * Beverly * Burton * Camp Point * Clayton * Columbus * Concord * Ellington * Fall Creek * Gilmer * Honey Creek *

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

* Keene *

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

* McKee * Melrose * Mendon *

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

* Payson * Quincy * Richfield * Riverside * Ursa

Politics

Adams County, positioned in a primarily

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

section of

is culturally isolated from Chicago, and therefore more

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

than the state's northeastern corner. Quincy, the county seat, holds a high number of socially conservative

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and likewise is the home to the campus of Quincy University, a private Catholic

liberal arts Liberal arts education () is a traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''skill, art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the fine arts. ''Liberal arts education'' can refe ...

college, and the Western Catholic Union. The county is part of the historic belt of German settlement extending into the

Missouri Rhineland The Missouri Rhineland () is a German American cultural region of Missouri that extends from west of St. Louis to slightly east of Jefferson City, located mostly in the Missouri River Valley on both sides of the river. The region overlaps wit ...

. Since it was antagonistic to the

Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Their various meanings depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, the Northeastern United Stat ...

northeast of Illinois, it voted solidly Democratic until 1892. After being a swing county in the first half of the twentieth century, Adams County has been a Republican stronghold. It has gone Republican in all but four presidential elections since 1920, all but one of which was a 400-vote Democratic landslide. The county last supported a Democrat in 1964, when it voted for

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

. The county regularly supports the Republicans at the state level as well; it has not supported a Democrat for Governor of Illinois since

Adlai Stevenson II Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (; February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American politician and diplomat who was the United States ambassador to the United Nations from 1961 until his death in 1965. He previously served as the 31st governor of Ill ...

in 1948. Additionally, five of the six countywide elected officials in Adams County are Republicans, with a Democrat holding the position of Circuit Clerk. Notably, while it voted for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

in his 2004 Senate campaign, he lost it by wide margins in both of his presidential bids. The county is part of

Illinois's 15th congressional district The 15th congressional district of Illinois is currently located in central Illinois. It was located in eastern and southeastern Illinois until 2022. It is currently represented by Republican Party (United States), Republican Mary Miller (poli ...

, currently represented by Republican Mary Miller. For the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

, the county is located in the 94th district, represented by Republican Randy Frese. The county is located in the 47th district of the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...

, represented by Republican Jil Tracy.

Education

Unified school districts

School districts covering sections of the county include: * Central Community Unit School District 3 * Griggsville-Perry Community Unit School District 4 * Liberty Community Unit School District 2 * Mendon Community Unit School District 4 * Payson Community Unit School District 1 * Quincy Public School District 172 * Southeastern Community Unit School District 337 * Western Community Unit School District 12

Private schools

* Blessed Sacrament Catholic School * Chaddock School * Quincy Christian School *

Quincy Notre Dame High School Quincy Notre Dame High School is a private, Roman Catholic co-educational high school in Quincy, Illinois, United States, founded in 1867, serving upper school students in Educational stages, grades ninth grade, 9-twelfth grade, 12. It is located ...

* St. Dominic Catholic School * St. Francis Solanus Catholic School * St. James Lutheran School * St. Peter Catholic School

Colleges and universities

* Blessing-Rieman College of Nursing * John Wood Community College * Quincy University

Attractions

* Adams County Fair * Bayview Bridge * Burton Cave * Fall Creek Scenic Park * Golden Windmill * John Wood Mansion * Saukenauk Scout Reservation * Siloam Springs State Park * Spirit Knob Winery * Villa Katharine * Wavering Park

References

External links

Adams County website

Adams County GIS Website

Great River Genealogical Society

United States Board on Geographic Names (GNIS)

United States National Atlas
{{Coord, 39.99, -91.19, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-IL_source:UScensus1990 Illinois counties 1825 establishments in Illinois Illinois counties on the Mississippi River Populated places established in 1825 Quincy–Hannibal area Quincy, Illinois micropolitan area