Adams County is named for John Quincy Adams, who was United States Secretary of State and a United States Representative.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Hancock County
E – Schuyler County, Brown County and Pike County
S – Pike County
W – Marion County, Missouri and Lewis County, Missouri
Created: January 13, 1825
County Seat:
Quincy 1825 – present
County Courthouse – Quincy
Location: 521 Vermont Street / North 6th Street
Built: 1949 – 1950
Style: Modern
Architect: Holabird, Root and Burgee and Hafner and Hafner
Contractor: L & R Construction Company
Description: The building faces south and is a three story white colored brick and concrete structure. The long rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Quincy with the County Jail along the east side. The building has entrances at the east and west sides of the south front. The first story has white colored stone facing. The windows are small. There are several roof line levels and the roof line is flat. In the interior are seven County Circuit Court courtrooms and one additional courtroom. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 8th Judicial Circuit. The building was renovated from 1994 to 1997. The architect was Peopping, Stone, Bach & Associates and the contractor for each phase was Johnco Construction, Watekatte Construction, R L Brink Company and A Fischer Builders. The new County Jail along the east side and exterior courthouse construction started in 2017 to 2020. The architect was HOK and the contractor was William Brothers Construction Inc. of Peoria Heights.
See: The 8th Judicial District includes Brown County, Calhoun County, Cass County, Mason County, Menard County, Pike County and Schuyler County.
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History: The county was created in 1825 and Quincy was selected as the county seat. The first court met at the home of Willard Keyes in Quincy. The first courthouse was a two story log structure erected in 1826. The courthouse burned in 1836. The second courthouse was a two story structure built in 1837. The courthouse also burned in 1875. The third courthouse was designed by J S McKean and constructed by W B Lackworthy in 1877. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1949 to 1950. The new jail was constructed in 2017 to 2020 at a cost of $32,550,000.
County Jail attached on east side
County Circuit Court courtroom
County Courthouse before exterior alterations – Quincy
Photos taken 2007, 2012 and 2026
Images 12*