  adams is a town in jefferson county, new york, usa. named after president john adams, the population was 5,143 at the 2010 census. the town of adams also contains a village named adams. both village and town are centrally located in the county and are south of watertown. ==history== settlement began around 1800 at adams village. david smith built a sawmill at the present site of adams in 1801. renamed for john adams in 1802 (the year after his presidency ended), the town of adams was created from the survey townships of aleppo and orpheus. the eastern part of adams was taken in 1804 to form the town of rodman. during the war of 1812, the town formed a local militia for home defense. in more recent times, the town has served as the home of the 46-unit 
Towns_in_Jefferson_County,_New_York Towns_in_New_York