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Illinois County
Adams County, Illinois
Quincy's Mississippi River antebellum architecture and Lincoln-Douglas debate history - one of the most remarkably preserved 19th-century cities on the Mississippi, home of the sixth Lincoln-Douglas debate (1858), the Quincy Art Center, and a western Illinois community defined by its extraordinary Greek Revival and Italianate architectural heritage on the bluffs above the river.
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
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Office: Adams County Emergency Management Agency – confirm current contact via adamscountyil.gov.
Sheriff: Adams County Sheriff’s Office – 521 Vermont Street, Quincy, IL 62301 | Jail (192 beds). Serving roughly 65,000 residents.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-72 and US-24/36 serve Quincy, the county seat, on the Mississippi River.
Notes: Adams County was created by the Illinois Legislature in early 1825, named for John Quincy Adams, the sixth U.S. President. The county has a genuinely colorful piece of governmental history: in the early 1840s a breakaway “Marquette County” was proposed and even referred to in local newspapers, later renamed “Highland County” in an 1847 legislative bill, but its citizens largely refused to organize a functioning government; the second Illinois State Constitution of 1848 formally reattached the territory to Adams County, ending the dispute.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Adams County Courthouse – 521 Vermont Street, Quincy, IL.
Notes: The current (fourth) Adams County Courthouse was dedicated in 1950 after a five-year construction process, designed by Holabird, Root, and Burgee with construction overseen by Hafner and Hafner. It replaced the third courthouse (completed 1877), which was destroyed along with much of downtown Quincy in an April 1945 tornado. The first courthouse (a log building, 1826) burned in 1836; its brick replacement burned again in 1875, after which a “peaceful county seat war” saw Quincy defeat a challenge from Coatsburg to keep the courthouse.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Adams County Veterans Assistance Commission – confirm current contact via adamscountyil.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Quincy Public Library (Quincy) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Adams County Courthouse and downtown Quincy’s Mississippi River waterfront are the county’s premier heritage attractions.
Notes: The genuine, twice-repeated pattern of fire and disaster (two courthouse fires plus a devastating 1945 tornado) shaping Quincy’s built environment is among the standout local facts covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Adams County Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via adamscountyil.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Adams County Animal Care and Control – confirm current contact via adamscountyil.gov.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Adams County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via adamscountyil.gov.
NOTES: Adams County is the first county completed in Illinois’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, twice-repeated pattern of fire and disaster shaping Quincy’s built environment is among the standout local facts covered in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Adams County
Adams County is western Illinois’s Lincoln-Douglas debate and antebellum architecture county – Quincy’s remarkable preservation of pre-Civil War prosperity and the Washington Park monument to one of American democracy’s most significant public debates define a Mississippi River city whose historical depth is exceptional even by Illinois standards.
Quincy (the county seat, population ~40,000) is Adams County’s governmental and commercial hub on the Mississippi River, a western Illinois city whose antebellum architecture, Lincoln-Douglas heritage, and Great River Road position anchor its identity as one of the most historically significant small cities on the upper Mississippi.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Adams County Supervisor of Assessments at 507 Vermont Street, Suite G02, Quincy, IL 62301, phone 217-277-2135. IL assessed at 33.33% of market value.
Courts & Legal
Adams County Circuit Court at 521 Vermont Street, Quincy, IL 62301, phone 217-277-2100, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Vital Records, Elections)
521 Vermont St., Quincy, IL 62301
(217) 277-2150
CIRCUIT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
521 Vermont St., Quincy, IL 62301
(217) 277-2200
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
521 Vermont St., Quincy, IL 62301
(217) 277-2150
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Adams County Circuit Clerk (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above); holds probate records of all types, plus civil and criminal records, and tax records.
Adams County Card Index to Deaths (1877-1990) – held at the Adams County Courthouse, available via FamilySearch.
Adams County Clerk’s Office, 507 Vermont St, Quincy, IL 62301, (217) 277-2150 – a separate office holding deeds, real estate documents, and birth/marriage/death certificates.
Local societies
No dedicated Adams County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Adams County Circuit Clerk (Eighth Judicial Circuit) 521 Vermont Street, Quincy, IL 62301 (217) 277-2100
Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:15 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Adams County is Illinois’ westernmost county, named for President John Quincy Adams, seated in Quincy along the Mississippi River. The Eighth Judicial Circuit also includes Brown, Calhoun, Cass, Mason, Menard, Pike, and Schuyler Counties.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Illinois has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code and is not a community property state – it follows common law property principles. Illinois probate is governed by the Probate Act of 1975 (755 ILCS 5/). Two main paths:
Small Estate Affidavit – for estates where personal property (excluding real estate) is valued at $150,000 or less (raised from $100,000 effective August 15, 2025 under Senate Bill 83, which also excludes vehicles from the calculation), there are no unresolved debts or claims, and there’s no real estate involved. No formal court probate is required – the affidavit is signed under penalty of perjury and presented directly to the institution holding the property.
Formal Probate (Independent or Supervised Administration) – required when the estate doesn’t qualify for the small estate affidavit, typically because it includes real estate, exceeds the threshold, or is otherwise complex. Most Illinois probate cases proceed under Independent Administration, which lets the estate representative act without prior court approval for most routine actions. Supervised Administration requires ongoing court oversight for contested or complicated estates.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File the decedent’s original will (if one exists) with the Circuit Clerk in Adams County, where the decedent resided at death.
Petition the court to open the estate and appoint an executor (if there’s a will) or an administrator (if intestate). Illinois intestate succession generally favors the surviving spouse and children first, then parents or siblings.
The court issues Letters of Office (Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration) appointing the representative.
Publish notice to creditors and unknown heirs as required by Illinois law; creditors generally have a limited window to file claims.
Under Independent Administration, the representative marshals assets, pays valid debts and taxes, and distributes the remaining estate without needing court approval for each step.
File a final accounting or closing documents to formally close the estate.
What it costs
Illinois imposes its own state estate tax on estates valued above $4 million, with rates up to 16%. There is no Illinois inheritance tax, though federal estate tax may also apply to larger estates.
Filing fees vary by county – confirm current amounts with the Adams County Circuit Clerk.
Document copies in Adams County cost $2.00 for the first page, $0.50 for the next 19 pages, and $0.25 for each additional page.
Most uncontested probate proceedings in Illinois can be completed within about a year, absent disputes or contests.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
330 Vermont St., Quincy, IL 62301
(217) 277-2161
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Vital Records, Elections)
521 Vermont St., Quincy, IL 62301
(217) 277-2150
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
521 Vermont St., Quincy, IL 62301
(217) 277-2150
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Adams County Health Dept
(217) 222-8440
IL DCFS — Quincy
(217) 223-8110
IL Medicaid
(800) 843-6154
Blessing Hospital
blessinghospital.com (Quincy — major regional hospital)
Quincy Medical Group
quincymedgroup.com
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Adams County Health Department – confirm current contact via adamscountyil.gov.
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