Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County

Governor John Wood Mansion

This beautiful Greek-Revival style mansion is the centerpiece of the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County.

You Are Invited

Please accept our invitation to visit the 177-year-old John Wood Mansion on the northeast corner of 12th and State Streets in Quincy.

The Historical Society was in only its tenth year when the Board accepted the suggestion of Miss Louisa Maertz that it restore the mansion. Beginning in the fall of 1906, the Society’s members conducted a year-long campaign to raise funds to buy the land and home and reclaim Governor Wood’s home from a boarding house to make it the historic landmark it is today.

The mansion was opened with a special dinner and reception in November 1907. Events throughout the year salute the vision of our society’s members then and now.

The Quincy Homes of Governor John Wood

Taking three years to build, John Wood’s third home was completed in 1838.

John Wood was born in Moravia, New York, on December 20, 1798. His father Daniel was a surgeon during the Revolutionary War, serving on tthe staff of General George Washington. At the age of 20 John decided to go west into the frontier. He settled at Atlas, Illinois, about 40 miles south of Quincy, and started to farm.

The land between the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers was set aside  by Congress in May 1812 Bounty Land. As part of the Illinois Military Tract, this was land awarded to veterans of the War of 1812 in 160-acre plots. There were 3,500,000 acres of land in the Military Tract and the government was anxious for people to settle there. The land on which Wood would establish the City of Quincy was within the Military Tract.

In 1822, a Mr. Flinn, who had been a soldier in the War of 1812, received 160 acres of bounty land. As he traveled northward to locate his land, he met John Wood. Wood decided to go with Flinn to see his land. Flinn did not want to live so far from St. Louis and agreed to sell the land to Wood for $60, or about 38 cents an acre. Wood built his first house, a log cabin, on the property at the foot of today’s Delaware Street near the river. The one-room cabin was 18 feet by 20 feet.

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