Gadsden County was created in 1823 and the county seat established two years later at Quincy. James Gadsden was aide-de-camp to Andrew Jackson during the latter’s invasion of Spanish Florida, and negotiated "treaties of removal" with the state’s native residents. He is perhaps better known for his later Gadsden Purchase, acquiring portions of modern Arizona from the Mexican government. Quincy honors the birthplace of John Quincy Adams, who was Secretary of State at the time of its founding. Gadsden County is famed for its large plantations and tobacco farms - witness the name of Havana, a historic community between Quincy and Tallahassee.  

          Early settlers continued to attend court in Tallahassee. The  first local facility used for a courthouse was the log home of Robert Forbes, a prominent early settler and land grantee. Local tradition holds that portions of this building still stand, incorporated into a structure now occupied by the Talquin Electric Cooperative.  The first of three courthouses to be located in the Quincy public square was erected in 1826-7. It too was constructed of logs, at a cost of about $50. This structure burned in 1849, supposedly an act of arson by a Forbes family slave.

A brick courthouse – similar to but smaller than the one in current use - was erected in 1850-1. The present courthouse, built in the Classical Revival style, dates from 1912-3.

Keith Vincent Collection