[4] According to tradition Jesse Kirk, Kirksville's first postmaster, shared a dinner of turkey and whiskey with surveyors working in the area on the condition that they would name the town after him.

Contrary to popular belief, the name of the city has no connection to John Kirk, onetime president of Truman State University from 1899 to 1925.

"Hopkinsville" was explained as a joking reference to the peculiar gait of John Kirk's lame father-in-law, David Sloan; the jocular name was discarded when the village was selected for the seat of justice in Adair County.

Union troops led by John McNeil forced Confederate volunteers under Joseph Porter to vacate the city.

The victorious Union commander, Colonel McNeil, gained brief national attention for his post-battle execution of a small number of Confederate prisoners.

These prisoners had been previously captured in battle and then paroled with the understanding they would no longer take up arms against the Union, upon penalty of death if recaptured.

On the evening of April 27, 1899, an F4 tornado passing through Adair County cut a path of destruction three blocks wide, killed 34 people and destroyed hundreds of buildings.

[7] The popular song "Just as the Storm Passed O'er" was based on the event, and the Kimball Piano Company exploited the incident for its advertising, when one of their instruments was carried a long distance by the tornado but still found in working condition.

The Adair County Courthouse, Bear Creek Baptist Church, Dockery Hotel, Grim Building, Capt.

Thomas C. Harris House, Journal Printing Company Building, Kirksville Courthouse Square Historic District, Drs.

George and Blanche Laughlin House, Masonic Temple, Dr. E. Sanborn Smith House, Orie J. Smith Black and White Stock Farm Historic District, Sojourners Club, Travelers Hotel, and Trinity Episcopal Church are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

By 2015 a number of persons originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo settled in Kirksville; they first came to the U.S. through diversity visas.

[25] Students and faculty from Truman State University took steps to help the Congolese residents acclimate to life in Kirksville.

[24] According to Sana Camara of Truman State, many of the immigrants were well-educated, and that the main barrier to success was specifically a lack of English knowledge.

Candidates for Kirksville city council are not required to have any party affiliation (i.e. Republican or Democrat) in order to run for office.

Citywide trash removal is contracted by the city with a private contractor, currently Advanced Disposal Environmental Service, and is mandatory for all residents or property owners.

The city of Kirksville partners with other agencies to operate Kirk-Tran, an area bus service, and a county-wide E-911 Center.

Kirksville is served by Kirk-Tran, which provides residents with a deviated fixed-route transit system and demand response service.

The deviated fixed-route bus service is a single loop route operating hourly from 7:00am to 6:00pm Monday-Thursday, 7:00am to 9:00pm on Fridays and 9:00am to 9:00pm on Saturdays.

[30] Kirksville, by way of La Plata, is serviced by Amtrak's Southwest Chief which runs along the BNSF Railway.

The distance from Truman State University to La Plata (Amtrak station) is approximately 12.5 miles (20.1 km).

The portion of the line that ran west of Kirksville towards Green City was abandoned and eventually torn down in the early 1950s.

During the summer of 1993, the railroad reopened to train traffic as the floods of the midwest affected lines around the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

The portion of the line from Moulton, IA northward towards Albia was purchased by the Appanoose County Community Railroad.

The Federal Aviation Administration took over running the radar and most of the surrounding 78.51 acres (317,700 m2) were given to Northeast Missouri State University.

The larger water source, Forrest Lake (640 acres), was formed by the city in the 1950s when a dam was constructed across Big Creek.