Adair is a city in Adair and Guthrie counties of

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

in the United States. The population was 791 at the 2020 census.

History

The

Rock Island Railroad The original Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At ...

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 Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

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 A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

John Adair John Adair (January 9, 1757 – May 19, 1840) was an American pioneer, slave trader, soldier, and politician. He was the List of Governors of Kentucky, eighth Governor of Kentucky and represented the state in both the United States House of Re ...

, a general in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

who later became the eighth governor of

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. Adair was the scene of the first successful train robbery in the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is census regions United States Census Bureau As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the mea ...

when on July 21, 1873, the James-Younger Gang (led by

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, Bank robbery, bank and Train robbery, train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the "Little Dixie (Missouri), Little Dixie" area of M ...

) took US $3,000 from the Rock Island Express after derailing it southwest of the town. The derailment killed the engineer. A rare F5 tornado occurred near this town on June 27, 1953, although the damage occurred closer to the town of Anita. One person was killed and two others were injured. Adair is recognizable from

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

by its tall yellow "smiley-face" water tower. Its roadsign warmly greets visitors with, "Welcome to Adair; it'll make you smile". Some of the local businesses incorporate the smiley-face tower image into their company logos. Adair is mentioned in the 2013 Stephen King novel '' Doctor Sleep''. In February 2024, Adair Police Chief Brad Wendt was convicted on 11 of 15 federal charges, for conspiring to make false statements to the federal

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention ...

and illegal possession of a machine gun. "Authorities say he bought machine guns for the police department, then sold them for an almost $80,000 personal profit. Trial evidence showed he bought machine guns for his gun store, including a .50-caliber machine gun he mounted to his own armored Humvee".

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Demographics

The Guthrie County portion of Adair is part of the

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

– West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.

2020 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2020, there were 791 people, 361 households, and 217 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 357.1 inhabitants per square mile (137.9/km²). There were 396 housing units at an average density of 178.8 per square mile (69.0/km²). The

racial Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...

makeup of the city was 93.6%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.8% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.4% from other races and 4.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race comprised 3.4% of the population. Of the 361 households, 22.2% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 6.6% were cohabitating couples, 28.3% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 19.7% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 39.9% of all households were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older. The median age in the city was 43.8 years. 22.6% of the residents were under the age of 20; 4.0% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 24.7% were from 25 and 44; 29.0% were from 45 and 64; and 19.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.7% male and 50.3% female.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 781 people, 361 households, and 208 families living in the city. The

was . There were 403 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.1%

, 0.1% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.8% from other races, and 0.5% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.3% of the population. There were 361 households, of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% were

living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 1.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.4% were non-families. 38.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age in the city was 41.9 years. 23.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.8% were from 25 to 44; 26.9% were from 45 to 64; and 17.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.0% male and 51.0% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 839 people, 366 households, and 214 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 404 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 99.05%

, 0.12% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 0.24% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.19% of the population. There were 366 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were

living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.5% were non-families. 39.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.51. Age spread: 22.2% under the age of 18, 17.3% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,319, and the median income for a family was $42,847. Males had a median income of $27,083 versus $22,941 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $15,557. About 2.5% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Adair is in the Adair–Casey Community School District, and houses Adair–Casey Elementary School and AC/GC Junior High School. Students attend AC/GC High School in Guthrie Center, a school of the Guthrie Center Community School District, under a grade-sharing arrangement.

References

External links

Adair, Iowa official website

* - hosted by the Adair–Casey Community School District
Older URL

Adair Police Chief Sentenced to 60 Months in Federal Prison for Fraud, False Statements, and Firearms Charges
{{Authority control Cities in Adair County, Iowa Cities in Guthrie County, Iowa Cities in Iowa Des Moines metropolitan area Populated places established in 1872 1872 establishments in Iowa