QUINCY, ILL. -- A piece of Illinois and Quincy history is now on display at the John Wood Community College Library.

An official letter written by John Wood himself was discovered by a collector in Chicago.

Without even seeing it, a local attorney bought the letter.  Jim Rapp has served as John Wood Community College's legal council for years and donated the letter to the college.

More then 2 years ago he went on a search to find a letter written by John Wood.

Rapp has always had an interest in letters and says they really tell you a lot about a person.

This letter that was found shows that even back in the 1850s they dealt with the same issues we do today.  John Wood's letter talked about debt and family illness.

John Wood served as mayor of Quincy for 3 terms and Governor of the State of Illinois for less then a year.

With John Wood being a big part of Quincy's history, Rapp was happy he could make this donation to the college.