Presidents—John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams. John Hancock was also born in Quincy. Quincy was first settled by Captain Richard Wollaston in 1625, making it one of the ten oldest cities in the country. In 1792, following the American Revolution, Quincy incorporated, named after Colonel John Quincy (grandfather of Abigail Adams and great-grandfather of John Quincy Adams).
In the 19th century, Quincy became famous for its granite mining and shipbuilding industries. Between 1820 and 1920, Quincy grew from a town of 1,600 to a city of 50,000, as Irish, Scottish and Scandinavian immigrants moved south from Boston to settle in Quincy. As of 2010, Quincy was the most Irish-American city in the U.S., with just over 33% of the population identifying as Irish-American.
In the 20th century, both the Howard Johnson hotel chain and Dunkin Donuts were founded in Quincy. Beginning around 1980, Quincy began to experience a rapid increase in immigration, mostly of Southeast Asian descent.
Today, the ethnic breakdown of Quincy is roughly 65% White, 25% Asian, 4% African-American, 3% Hispanic, 3% other. 64% speak only English at home, while 24% speak an Asian or Pacific Island language, and nearly 9% speak a European/ Indo-European language at home. In the 2010 census, Quincy had the highest per capita concentration of persons of Asian origin in Massachusetts. Of the Asian population in Quincy, roughly two thirds are ethnic Chinese. There is a growing Eastern European (largely Albanian) population and a growing Indian population in Quincy. People have come and are coming from all over the world to live in this beautiful, historic place. The nations have come to Quincy!
“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
– Revelation 7:9-10
 “Four Centuries of New Americans,” Quincy Historical Society, 2007.
 This includes a significant Eastern European population, as indicated by breakdown of languages spoken in the home.
 Mission Insight Report.