Adair, Missouri facts for kids
Adair, Missouri is a small, unincorporated community in eastern Adair County, Missouri, United States. This means it's a place where people live, but it doesn't have its own local government like a city or town. Adair is about 12 miles northeast of Kirksville, right on Missouri Route 11.
One special thing about Adair is St. Mary's Church. This old church is so important that it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This list includes buildings, sites, and objects that are important in American history.
History of Adair, Missouri
The very first settlers came to Adair County in 1828. But it wasn't until the 1830s that people started moving to other parts of the county, away from the Chariton River. In the early 1840s, new families began to arrive in northeastern Adair County. Many of these new residents were Irish Catholics who had first settled in Ohio.
Growth and Challenges
More and more Irish families came as the Great Famine made life very hard in Ireland. By 1860, there were enough people to build a simple log church and have a priest. After the Civil War, a lawyer from Adair, Mr. Clancy, wrote articles for newspapers in Ohio. He praised the good farmland and encouraged more Irish people to move to Adair.
One of the early settlers was Michael C. Cody. He arrived in Adair in 1855. In the late 1860s, he gave a large piece of land for the village cemetery. Even though Adair wasn't officially a town yet, it had enough people for a United States Post Office to open in January 1878.
In April 1879, the village of Adair was officially planned out by Mr. Thomas Dockery, with help from Mr. Cody and his wife Mary. It was named after its county. By the 1880s, Adair had many businesses. These included a doctor who also sold medicine, a saw mill, a flour mill, a hotel, a hat shop, a shoe maker, and a wagon maker. There was also a factory that made wooden hoops, a general store, a place to rent horses and carriages, and a livestock dealer.
Adair kept growing into the early 1900s. By 1905, its population was thought to be over 400 people. This was also when the new St. Mary's Catholic Church was finished. However, the Adair Post Office closed on October 31, 1905, which was a bit strange given the village's growth.
Decline and Today
After World War I and the Great Depression, many young adults moved from farms to cities across America. This caused Adair's population and businesses to shrink quickly. Also, better roads made it easier for people to travel to nearby towns like Baring and Kirksville for supplies.
In the 1940s, there was some excitement about a possible oil boom around Adair. People drilled a test well and found oil. But there wasn't enough oil, or it wasn't good enough quality, to interest big oil companies.
By the 1970s, not much was left of Adair. All the businesses had closed, and only about a dozen homes were still lived in. St. Mary's Catholic Church, which had been very important to the community, held its last regular service in December 1972. In 1976, a group called the "Friends of St. Mary's" took over the church. They have been working to keep it in good shape and restore it when they have enough money.
Today, Adair has only about six homes and fewer than thirty people living there. Only one empty building from the old business area remains. The Adair County Sheriff's Department provides law enforcement, and the Eastern Adair Rural Volunteer Fire Department helps with fires.
Images for kids
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St. Mary's Catholic Church around 1910
