The history of Quinsippi Island | History | whig.com – Herald-Whig

Quinsippi Island, originally called Towhead Island, separates Quincy Bay from the Mississippi River. In the early 19th century, it was used for training during the War of 1812. Later logs were floated down the river to sawmills on the east side of Quincy Bay. In the winter ice was harvested from the bay. The island, which once was used and owned by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad as part of their bridge system to cross the river, was given to the city in the 1960s. Today it is a 130-acre park managed by the Quincy Park District.

The first railroad bridge in Quincy was constructed by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in 1868. Trains to and from Missouri to Quincy ran on a one lane railroad bridge, crossing the Mississippi River traveling onto the island, then across the Lower Swing Bay Bridge where it looped around, stopped at the station, and returned on the Upper Swing Bay Bridge. A new bridge with wagon lanes was built in 1899. It was also a drawbridge that allowed barges to pass but caused long delays for the trains. The third railroad bridge, no longer a drawbridge was built in 1960, bypassing the Island. The railroad then donated the island, the steam engine locomotive 3007 and the old upper bay bridge, no longer a swing bridge, to the city of Quincy. The large steam engine was deemed a tourist attraction and sat on the only remaining railroad track on the island.

After the gift of the island, the Quincy Park District began the long process of turning it into a tourist destination. Tourists were coming to Hannibal, Mo., and Nauvoo but bypassing Quincy. The park district wanted to turn the island into a family fun park. First, they had to fill in the swampy areas of the island and raise the level so that there was less flooding. Then they had to remove squatter cabins and debris that had collected on the south end of the island.

The next improvement to the island was constructing a boat marina which meant involving the Army Corp of Engineers, dredging a slough which had been filled by the railroad, and finding the funds to support the plan. It took over ten years to complete the project. Renters and visiting boats began to use the marina facility in 1967.

The park district named the east bay side across from the island the All America Park in 1961, to go along with the All-America City Award. A city bond issue had failed so the park district decided to finance improvements to the island through a revenue bond issue of $500,000. The bond issue would be paid off by fees they hoped to collect from the tourist attractions planned for the island. The first two attractions talked about were a Sky Cruise Tramway and a narrow-gauge railroad. In the meantime, The Quincy Herald-Whig and Quincy Broadcasting Company gave the island park the Quinsippi Queen excursion boat for daily cruises on the river. In 1966, the Little Q railroad began to cross the bay on the old upper bay bridge and continued on a three-mile trip around the island. The steam engine powered a nine-car train on 15-inch tracks. In 1968 the tramway opened which took passengers from a parking lot at Third and Jersey Streets to the island terminal. Next came the Mississippi Valley Antique Car Society automobile museum, managed by volunteers and placed on the east side of the bay.

In 1970, the American City magazine awarded a citation to the park district for its development of Quinsippi Island. They particularly cited the Quinsippi Queen excursion boat, and the narrow-gauge railroad. The Sky Cruise tramway, nature trails, and a river beach, were among other features mentioned. By then the island had a small zoo, and a log cabin village. Ads in the newspaper in 1973 listed what was available to see and do on the island and on the bay side park. Highlighted was the Marina, the Sky Cruise, a train depot and a round house for the Little Q railroad, a souvenir shop, Erroke Indian Museum, a picnic area, and a Log Cabin Village. The auto museum, the carousel sponsored by the Kiwanis Club, and the Ferris wheel sponsored by the Rotary Club, on the east side of the bay in the All-America City Park were also listed.

The Erroke Indian Mounds Museum, which opened in 1962 in Indian Mounds Park in Quincy, had closed at that location by the end of the decade. The burial mound was covered over, and the building used by the park district. The contents of the museum were then housed in a new building on Quinsippi Island.

But by 1980, the Museum on the island was outgrowing its facility. They negotiated a one-year lease to use the Newcomb Stillwell mansion as a site for their collection, which had recently been put on the market by Quincy University. The plan was to evolve the museum into the Quincy and Adams County Museum. By 1983, the museum was called the Museum of Natural History and Art, then the Museum of Natural History, and finally the Quincy Museum on Maine Street.

All of the attractions on Quinsippi Island and the All America Park had been targeting tourist traffic. Unfortunately, the tourists never came in large enough numbers to support the costs of maintaining the parks and the attractions. Both the Sky Cruise and the Little Q narrow-gauge railroad failed in the mid-1980s due to high maintenance costs and low ridership which was exacerbated by the floods of 1969 and 1973. The equipment was sold at auction in 1988. Little by little all the other attractions closed, except the Log Cabin Village, which you can visit today at Adams Landing on Quinsippi Island.

Aerial Ride Planned For End Of May. Quincy Herald-Whig, March 31, 1968, 36.

American City Citation. Quincy Herald-Whig, February 10, 1970, 6.

Author unknown. Story of Quinsippi Island. Document file, Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County. N. D.

Bradshaw, Bill. Effort to Buy Stillwell Hall Gains Support. Quincy Herald-Whig, May 11, 1980, 8.

Bradshaw, Bill. Quincy-Adams County Museum taking Form. Quincy Herald-Whig, December 28, 1980, 10.

Erection Bids To Be Asked Soon. Quincy Herald-Whig, May 29, 1967, 18.

Ferris Wheel For Park Approved. Quincy Herald-Whig, May 7, 1970, 26.

Husar, Edward. History of CB&Q Railroad Celebrated In Newly Published Book. Quincy Herald-Whig, January 11, 2016.

Husar, Edward. Quincyans Buy Sky Cruise, Little Q Rail Equipment. Quincy Herald-Whig, October 6, 1988, 20.

Island Opens Doors Sunday. Quincy Herald-Whig, April 9, 1971, 18.

Kramer, Ken. "Quinsippi Island. Illinois Parks and Recreation. November 10, 1973. ip731110.html (niu.edu)

Lane, Beth Quincys Railroad Tragedy. Quincy Herald-Whig, December 25, 2016.

Magazine Citation For The Park District. Quincy Herald-Whig, February 10, 1970, 3.

Weeks, John A., III. Quinsippi Island Bridge, Quincy, IL (johnweeks.com)

Arlis Dittmer is a retired health science librarian and current president of the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County. During her years with Blessing Health System, she became interested in medical and nursing historyboth topics frequently overlooked in history.

The Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County is preserving the Governor John Wood Mansion, the History Museum on the Square, the 1835 Log Cabin, the Livery, the Lincoln Gallery displays, and a collection of artifacts and documents that tell the story of who we are. This award-winning column is written by members of the Society. For more information visit hsqac.org or email info@hsqac.org."

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