stop on the Underground Railroad. The divide over slavery climaxed in 1858, when Quincy hosted the sixth Senatorial debate by U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas and his challenger, Abraham Lincoln. With a crowd of 12,000 in attendance, Quincy was the largest community at which Lincoln and Douglas debated. Lincoln and Douglas again confronted each other in the 1860 Presidential election and the resulting campaign again divided Quincy and the surrounding region. Lincoln enthusiasts and Quincy's chapter of the Republican Party's para-military organization Wide Awakes, while en route to a political rally in Plainville, marched upon nearby Payson, which was a community predominantly filled with Douglas supporters. Although a confrontation was avoided while en route to Plainville, Douglas supporters shot upon the Wide Awakes on their journey back to Quincy, resulting in a skirmish known as the Stone Prairie Riots. The Civil War brought increasing prosperity to Quincy. Although the battles took place far from the city, Quincy was the organization site for several Illinois volunteer infantry regiments, including the 16th, 50th, 78th, 84th, 119th, 137th, 138th, and 151st. Following the Reconstruction Era, Quincy was selected as the location for Illinois' first Veteran's Home in 1886. Immigration to Quincy Early immigrants to Quincy came predominately from New England, seeking better land. They brought with them progressive values, such as public education and abolitionism. Starting in the 1840s, migrants from Germany settled in Quincy to escape revolutions among the German provinces and conflicts between the European powers. German migrants mainly lived in close proximity to one another and settled predominantly in the southern parts of the city, influencing much of Quincy's historic architecture and creating the South Side German Historic District. Collectively, the south side of Quincy became known as Calftown, due to the fact that nearly every household possessed a cow. Among the notable German-Americans from Quincy's Southside was Louise Maertz (1837–1918), a nurse during the American Civil War. In 1860, a group of Franciscan friars founded the St. Francis Solanus College, which later developed into Quincy University. 20th and 21st centuries Throughout the 19th century, Quincy had grown from a backwater hamlet along the Mississippi River to become one of the state's most important cities and ports. Activity from rail and steamboat continued to flourish and Quincy benefited from the increased traffic. It was during the early decades of the 20th century that many of the city's historic buildings in