Adair, Missouri

[2] By the early 1840s new residents, primarily Irish Catholics by way of Ohio, began to arrive in northeastern Adair County.

Following the end of the Civil War an attorney from Adair, a Mr. Clancy, wrote glowing editorials to newspapers back in Ohio praising the fine farmland and urging more Irish migration.

[3] Adair continued to see growth through the remainder of the late 19th and early 20th century, with a population estimated at over 400 by 1905 when the new St. Mary's Catholic Church was completed.

[2] The years after World War I and the Great Depression witnessed large migrations from rural farming to urban industrial areas across America—especially among young adults—and this caused a rapid decline in Adair's population and business offerings.

[3] Additionally, much-improved roads meant easier travel to area towns and cities like Baring and Kirksville for supplies.