# History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century/3/Counties/Adams

​ ADAMS COUNTY is the third east of the Missouri State line. It contains twelve Congressional townships, embracing within its limits four hundred thirty-two square miles. The county was created in 1851 from territory formerly within Des Moines County and was named for John Adams, second President of the United States.
The county-seat was located by commissioners a little north of the center of the county and named Quincy, for ​John Quincy Adams, the sixth President. The land upon which the county-seat was located belonged to Jacob M. B. Miller who laid out the town and deeded to the county all even numbered lots and a public square, J. R. Holbrook built the first house in August, 1853, in which he opened a store. The first white man known to have settled in the county was Elijah Walters who, in 1849, took a claim two miles south of Quincy. Samuel Baker, Morgan Warren and Samuel Hardesty made claims and built cabins soon after.
At the election held in April of that year, Samuel Baker was chosen county judge and John H. Calvin recorder. In 1853 a French colony composed of socialists purchased about 3,000 acres of Government land near the East Nodaway River, The people were followers of Etienne Cabet, a French philosopher. The community located here to make the experiment of owning property in common and governing themselves in accordance with the socialistic theories of their leader. They organized a local government consisting of a general assembly composed of the male members of the community over twenty-one years of age. All property was owned in common and controlled by a board of directors consisting of a president, secretary, treasurer and a director of agriculture, industry and clothing. New members were admitted upon consent of three-quarters of the male members twenty-one years of age. All were required to surrender their property to the community, give their services in consideration of a living, sharing equally the benefits. No money compensation was given for any kind of service. There was no religious creed and no form of worship but the members of the colony professed the religion of the primitive Christians. Sunday was a day of recreation and amusement and in all respects held to be no more sacred than any other day. The membership after an existence of nearly half a century numbers about fifty.
In 1855 a town was laid out by D. N. Smith about five ​miles south of Quincy which was named Corning, in honor of a New York politician and capitalist, Erastus Corning. It is on the main line of the Burlington Railroad and has become the county-seat. The first church in the county was organized at Quincy in 1856 by the Methodists. In 1859 they organized a seminary at Brookville and in the same year the first newspaper was established at Corning by D. N. Smith, with L. Raguet as editor, and named the Corning Sentinel.
Adams County has an undulating surface and is well watered by the East and West Nodaway rivers and their branches. One-tenth of the county was originally covered with forests. Coal, limestone and good building stone abound in portions of the county and it lies in the famous blue grass region.