The Rock Island Railroad was built through the area in 1868, which led to the area being known as Summit Cut. This was in reference to the ridge that forms the watershed divide between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The town officially became known as Adair on August 20, 1872, when it was incorporated with the county. The town is named after General John Adair, a general in the War of 1812 who later became the eighth governor of Kentucky. Adair was the scene of the first successful train robbery in the American West when on July 21, 1873, the James-Younger Gang (led by Jesse James) took US $3,000 from the Rock Island Express after derailing it southwest of the town. The derailment killed the engineer.
Passages that mention Adair, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Guthrie and Adair counties, Iowa1884 · page 897Read the page →
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tially in both of them. This, which was built the following year, became the great outlet for the stock and produce of Adair county, and continued to be the only one until in 1879, the branch of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad, known as the Crestou a"nd Northern railway, was built, entering the town of Fonta-
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History of Guthrie and Adair counties, Iowa1884 · page 988Read the page →
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point, which was a great acquisition and secured permanent prosperity to the town. In 1873 Captain Stuart founded the town of Adair, where for more than ten years he carried on an extensive business, which contributed largely in developing the town and surrounding country, which is a very thrifty
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Adair, 1899 to 1988
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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