ADAMS COUNTY, in the westernmost part of Illinois, bordering the Mississippi river. It is 32 miles in length, with a mean breadth of 24, and contains an area of 768 square miles. The western and most extensive slope declines toward the Mississippi, while that of the east gives rise to the streams running into the Illinois river. Courts are held at Quincy. Pop., in 1830, 3,186; in 1840, 14,476; in 1850, 26,508. (Fanning's, 1853)
ADAMS COUNTY. This is a flourishing county, in the extreme western part of the state, bordering on the Mississippi river, which separates it from Missouri; has an area of 760 square miles. The north-west part of the county is drained by Bear creek, an affluent of the Mississippi. The surface is generally undulating and adorned with forests of deciduous trees; the soil is exceedingly rich and extensively cultivated ; wheat, Indian corn, oats, cattle and pork are the staples. The county contains extensive beds of stone coal and limestone. Capital, Quincy. Population, 32,800. County Judge, W.H. Cather; Sheriff, John P. Cadogan. (Hawkes' Illinois State Gazetteer, 1859)