Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Its Register listing is the Farmers State Bank. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1965 on, and the census since 1880.
The Adams post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Adams’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Adams.
The area that would become the village of Adams was initially colonized by the namesake of the settlement, an Indiana pioneer named Tyler Adams (1808–1887). He arrived in 1857; however, the village of Adams did not exist until John O. Adams negotiated deals with a railroad company that intended to set tracks through his land in 1873.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Adams, cut from the printed page as they were published.
PiCKRELL — Virginia ADAMS As early as 1867 a postoffice was established in Adams township, called Laona. John Lyons was the first postmaster, the postoffice being at his home, a mile and one-half west of the present town of Adams. In 1873 the Atchison & Nebraska Railroad Company
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The pioneer journal of Adams County was the Gazette, issued at Juniata in 1872. It was established solely to defend the old county seat against all assailants, and to cry down all opposition to the little village of the prairie. In 1873 the Journal was founded at Hastings. It was superior to the Gazette as a local newspaper; but, like the pioneer paper, defended its new town of Hastings against
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The pioneer journal of Adams County was the Gazette, issued at Juniata in 1872. It was established solely to defend the old county seat against all assailants, and to cry down all opposition to the little village of the prairie. In 1873 the Journal was founded at Hastings. It was superior to the Gazette as a local newspaper; but, like the pioneer paper, defended its new town of Hastings against
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The grain business has been an active industry at Adams from the moment the railroad came. Many individuals and companies had helped develop it until finally the Central Granaries Company obtained control of the business. In 1908 this company sold its elevator to the Farmers Elevator Company, incorporated, with a capital stock of $10,000,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Adams. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Adams.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Adams’ page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Between 52 and 647 people in every census since 1880.
14 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Adams’ Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
The Adams post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
One place: the Farmers State Bank (listed 1992).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), Wikidata (1), 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 US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), 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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