Adams dates to 1802, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 92% of U.S. towns · #218 of 758 in New York. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 21 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1820.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1807.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Adams’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Adams is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #218 of 758 in New York. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Adams’ overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Adams’ 46.7 sits above most of its state (68% of New York towns have fewer) while its 23 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 points). Two sources give 1802.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Adams’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Adams’s post office has been open since 1807. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Adams
1807–today
Smithville
1824–1984
North Adams
1836–1863
Adams Centre
1838–today
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Adams CenterGreen SettlementHoneyvilleJefferson Courts Mobile Home ParkLyon CornerNorth AdamsPine Ridge Mobile Home ParkSandy Acres Mobile Home ParkSmithvilleThomas Settlement
Gone or out of use
Butterville AirportairportSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 4school
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Adams
Adams State RoadElmwoodNorth AdamsThompsonUnion
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Adams’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Adams’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Settlement began around 1800 at Adams village. David Smith built a sawmill at the present site of Adams in 1801. Renamed for John Adams in 1802 (the year after his presidency ended), the town of Adams was created from the survey townships of Aleppo and Orpheus. The eastern part of Adams was taken in 1804 to form the town of Rodman. During the War of 1812, the town of Adams formed a local militia for home defense.
The Talcott Falls Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
from the City of Pittslturg, March 10. 1840, a son o'f Michael and Elizabeth (Funk) Daugherty, both natives of Pennsylvania and the former of Scotch ancestry and the latter of German stock. Michael Daugherty brought his family to Illinois in 1851 and settled on a farm in Ursa Township of Adams County. Michael was a blacksmith by trade, but after coming to Adams County gave his time to agriculture and developed one of the finest farms of the county.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of the adventures of Joseph Andrews and his friend Mr Abraham Adams1902 · page 142Read the page →
Read the text
Adams, whose natural complacence was beyond any artificial, was obliged to comply before he was suffered to explain himself; and, laying hold on one of their tails, the unruly beast gave such a sudden spring, that he threw poor Adams all along in the mire. Trulliber, instead of assisting him to get up, burst into a laughter, and, entering the stye, said to Adams with some contempt, " Why, dost not know how to handle a hog?" and was going to lay hold of one himself,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Quincy and Adams County history1919 · page 1265Read the page →
Read the text
He spent most of his boyhood in Adams County and afterwards lived with an Adams Countjsettlement in Chariton County, Missouri, for a number of years. He finally returned to Adams County and was proprietor of one of the productive farms and a citizen whose substantial character was regarded as an asset in the communit}\ His death occuiTed January 10, 1919.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Genealogy and history of the Baker, Andrus, Clark, and Adams families1920 · page 7Read the page →
Read the text
The Adams Record Of the Adams genealogy I have a full and correct line of descent from Henry Adams of Braintree, Mass., up to the marriage of Sibyl Adams to David Clark, where the record will give the descent down to the present generation. The writer felt it unnecessary to follow all the thousands of branches of the Adams family as descended from Henry Adams. The family has become so numerous as to become bewildering to
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.
Timeline
Adams, 1802 to 1984
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1802, according to Wikidata. Adams’ post office opened in 1807, and the census of 1820 counted 2,467 people here.
How does Adams rank for history?
Adams is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #218 of 758 in New York. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Adams?
Two places: the Adams Commercial Historic District (listed 2006) and the Smith-Ripley House (2008).
How old are the homes in Adams?
34% of Adams’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1971.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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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