I don't want to give it away too quickly, but I can tell you that the town recently named as Illinois' most charming small town is on the map above, and it does have a red pin stuck in it. One other clue would be that it's located near the "pregnant part" of the Illinois map silhouette. Does that help you formulate a guess as to our winner?

Okay, here are a few more hints.

  • This Illinois town is also known as "Gem City."
  • It was a key link in the Underground Railroad
  • The town had a frequent visitor named Abraham Lincoln
  • The 6th Lincoln-Douglas debate was held in one of the city's parks
  • It was once the 2nd-largest city in Illinois, surpassing Peoria in 1870

Maybe an overhead view will help you identify the town:

Aerial view of the central business district of Quincy, Illinois, USA
If this helps you, you're really good with maps. (Getty Images)
loading...

Home Improvement Services Website AllStarHome.com Took A Look At Small Towns All Across The Country To Make Their Picks For The Most Charming Small Towns In Every State

So, what did AllStarHome.com use as criteria for picking the country's most charming small towns? They went with four key rankings: "community, affordable living, safety, and education. Community score was based on factors such as diversity by state, farmer’s markets in the vicinity, historical buildings, and the average winning percentage of the area’s high school football teams."

Those seem like reasonable things to look at, although I am amused by the community score section where they looked at "farmer's markets in the vicinity," and "winning percentage of area high school football teams." That's a lot of pressure to put on farmers and high school football players and coaches.

Okay, a few more photos to help you guess the town:

Quincy Il bridge at sunset
Getty Images
loading...
Quincy, Illinois
Getty Images
loading...
Getty Images
Getty Images
loading...

If those didn't help, perhaps naming the county (which includes the county seat) will push you over the top.

Large and detailed map of Adams county in Illinois, USA.
Getty Images
loading...

You Probably Knew All Along (And Were Just Humoring Me) That It's Quincy, Illinois

AllStarHome.com named Elmira, New York as the most charming small town in America with an overall score of 75, and a community score of 43. As a matter of face, 5 of the top ten most charming small towns in America are in New York state, according to this study.

Quincy, our state's most charming small town gets a total score of 58, with a community score of 32.

Let's take a quick tour.

The Definitive List of The Oddest, Strangest and Downright Filthy Town Names In Every State

We combed through list after list of the oddest, strangest and somewhat naughty-sounding town names in every state. From Smut Eye to Ding Dong, you can learn unbelievable facts about each of these towns below.

Gallery Credit: Rob Carroll

Offbeat adventures: Travel to the coolest hidden wonders in every U.S. state

Fuel your offbeat travel dreams. Stacker found the coolest hidden wonders in all 50 U.S. states (plus D.C.) using data from Atlas Obscura.

[WARNING: Under no circumstances should you enter private or abandoned property. By doing so you risk bodily harm and/or prosecution for trespassing.]

Gallery Credit: Sandi Hemmerlein

More From Fun 104