Why Quincy Is Known as the “Gem City?”

There's the Quincy Gems, Gem City College, Gem City Pizza, did you ever wonder why and how Quincy became known as the "Gem City?" It's not what you think.

I had to do some research on this one, I didn't know why Quincy is also known as the "Gem City," but what i found may surprise you. According to Yahoo Answers,  agriculture seems to be the main reason.

When Quincy was first starting to become a small town on the Mighty Mississippi, it thrived on flour and saw mills, land for crops to grow, and the variety of trees (oak, hickory & walnut) to make timber and build homes and businesses. With the success of all of these advances, trade started to flourish, and the state of Illinois deemed the small town a "Gem City" and the nickname has stuck ever since.