One of the Ioway's dogs killed a pig, and some tribe members threatened (or insulted, according to some sources) the white women.

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.

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.

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.

After months of no hostile Native American activity in the Adair County area, both forts were abandoned.

[8] The Adair County courthouse is a three-story 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, Polk, Vernon, and Cooper counties.

The county voters finally approved a $50,000 bond issue in 1897 to build the current courthouse after four failed attempts between 1872 and 1896.

The most predominant denominations among residents in Adair County who adhere to a religion are Southern Baptists (19.73%), United Methodists (14.27%), and Roman Catholics (12.72%).

Most offices are housed in the Adair County Courthouse, a structure dating from 1896 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.