Editing Adair County, Missouri (section)

==History==
The first permanent settlement in Adair County began in 1828. Many of the first settlers were from [[Adair County, KY|Adair County]] in [[Kentucky]], for which the Missouri county was named.<ref>{{cite book|title=Survey of Missouri Place Names|year=1928–1945|last=Ramsay|first=Robert L.|author-link=Robert L. Ramsay (academic)|section=Adair County|url=https://shsmo.org/manuscripts/ramsay/ramsay_adair.html|publisher=University of Missouri|access-date=June 13, 2019|archive-date=June 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170626104516/http://shsmo.org/manuscripts/ramsay/ramsay_adair.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The county in Kentucky was named for [[John Adair]], a respected Governor of Kentucky.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_pX0UAAAAYAAJ | title=History of Adair County | publisher=The Denslow History Company | author=Violette, E. M. | year=1911 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_pX0UAAAAYAAJ/page/n50 34]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_RfAuAAAAYAAJ | title=How Missouri Counties, Towns and Streams Were Named | publisher=The State Historical Society of Missouri | author=Eaton, David Wolfe | year=1916 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_RfAuAAAAYAAJ/page/n11 200]}}</ref> This was 25 years after the [[Louisiana Purchase]], seven years after Missouri was granted statehood, and four years after the Sac and Fox Native American tribes surrendered their claims to the land. The original settlement was called "Cabins of White Folks," or, "The Cabins," and was located {{convert|6|mi|km|spell=in}} west of present-day Kirksville along the [[Chariton River]].

'''The Big Neck War:''' In July 1829, a large party of Iowa (or Ioway) Native Americans, led by Chief Big Neck, returned to their former hunting grounds in violation of treaty. One of the Ioway's dogs killed a pig, and some tribe members threatened (or insulted, according to some sources) the white women. The settlers sent messengers south to [[Randolph County, Missouri|Randolph]] and [[Macon County, Missouri|Macon]] counties asking for help. Captain William Trammell responded with a party of some two dozen men to help. By the time of their arrival, the Ioways had left the area and moved up the Chariton into what is now [[Schuyler County, Missouri|Schuyler County]]. Trammell's force, augmented by several of the men from The Cabins, pursued and engaged the Ioway at a place called Battle Creek, killing several Native Americans including Big Neck's brother, sister-in-law, and their child.<ref>A Book Of Adair County History, page 34-36. Published 1976 by The Kirksville-Adair County Bicentennial Committee</ref> The Trammell party lost three men in the skirmish, including Captain Trammell himself, and one additional casualty died of his wounds shortly afterward. The surviving whites returned to the cabins, collected the women and children, and headed south for the Randolph County settlement of Huntsville. Later, a group of militia under General John B. Clark pursued and apprehended Big Neck and his braves, capturing them in March 1830. Several of them soon escaped from jail and fled to the current state of [[Iowa]]; however, Big Neck himself and the remainder were put on trial by a grand jury convened in Randolph County. The jury found on March 31, 1830, that: "After examining all the witnesses, and maturely considering the charges for which these Iowa Indians are now in confinement, we find them not guilty, and they are at once discharged."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~towlescanote/history.html |title=History of Randolph County |access-date=May 1, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015115408/http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~towlescanote/history.html |archive-date=October 15, 2008 }} History of Randolph County</ref> The acquittal of Big Neck seemed to have brought the war to a peaceful, if uneasy, conclusion. A few months later, white settlers returned to The Cabins in greater numbers than before, and this time to stay permanently. The outbreak of the [[Blackhawk War]] in 1832 again caused consternation among the early settlers although all fighting was hundreds of miles away in present-day [[Illinois]] and [[Wisconsin]]. To ease fears in the area, militia units were dispatched and two small forts were constructed. One, Fort Clark, was located on high ground adjacent to The Cabins. Several miles to the northeast, another detachment of troops established Fort Matson. After months of no hostile Native American activity in the Adair County area, both forts were abandoned. The site of Fort Clark is now marked by a large boulder and plaque, while the Fort Matson site was later the location for a church and its name corrupted to Fort Madison (not to be confused with the Iowa city). The Fort Matson/Madison Cemetery remains.<ref>A Book Of Adair County History, page 37-38. Published 1976 by The Kirksville-Adair County Bicentennial Committee</ref>

===Courthouse===
The Adair County courthouse is a three-story [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] structure in the center of the Kirksville city square that was completed in 1899. The architect was Robert G. Kirsch who would later also design the courthouses for [[Carroll County, Missouri|Carroll]], [[Polk County, Missouri|Polk]], [[Vernon County, Missouri|Vernon]], and [[Cooper County, Missouri|Cooper]] counties. The county had no dedicated courthouse from 1865 until 1899, operating out of temporary rented quarters on or near the square. The county voters finally approved a $50,000 [[Bond (finance)|bond issue]] in 1897 to build the current courthouse after four failed attempts between 1872 and 1896. The courthouse was placed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1978.<ref name='adair_nrhp'>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.dnr.mo.gov/shpo/Adair.htm 
 |title=National Register - Adair County 
 |publisher=[[Missouri Department of Natural Resources]] State Historic Preservation Office 
 |access-date=January 17, 2015 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713071425/http://dnr.mo.gov/shpo/adair.htm 
 |archive-date=July 13, 2015 
}}</ref><ref name='courthouse_nrhp'>{{cite web | url = http://www.dnr.mo.gov/shpo/nps-nr/78001636.pdf
 | title = Adair County Courthouse National Register of Historic Places Inventory &ndash; Nomination Form
 | date = 1977
 | access-date = January 17, 2015
 | author = March, David D.
}}</ref>