This site is designed to update visitors of the events in the towns and surrounding are that make up Adair county, also known as Iowa’s Garden County.

To the right are:

• Local events and calendar of events.
• The towns of Adair County
• FAQs
• Helpful Insurance Tips

Be sure to check back often.

Insurance coverage is an important, yet often overlooked issue facing college students.  How do you know if your student is appropriately covered? The answer may vary depending on your insurance carrier and policy form.  A good place to start is by asking your agent:

• Are my student’s personal possessions covered under my homeowner’s insurance?
• If my student drives a friend’s car and gets into an accident, is he covered?

The answers to these questions are imperative in determining what kind of coverage your current policies provide—and how to purchase additional coverages that may be needed.

Renter’s insurance policies are generally quite affordable, with annual premiums running around $150 to $200 for $15,000 of coverage for personal property.  Renter’s insurance will cover damages from fire, smoke, lightning, vandalism, theft, explosion, windstorm and water damage (non-flood related).  Renter’s insurance also covers additional living expenses if your student is unable to live in his apartment or house because of a fire or other covered loss.

Orient is located on Highway 25 near the southern border of Adair County.

Henry A Wallace Center

The Henry A. Wallace Country Life Center, the birthplace farmstead of vice president Henry Wallace, the founder of Pioneer Hy-Bred Seed Corn, is nearby. The site features a restored prairie, outdoor artwork, flower gardens, an orchard and a walking path.

Bank of Memories, an unusual museum, housed in a former bank building, and featuring Mormon Trail memorabilia as well as an authentic Mormon pushcart, is located in downtown Orient.  Also included are displays of Orient native sons, Henry A. Wallace, Dazzy Vance (baseball Hall of Fame), and World War II pilot, Jack Conger.

Bank of Memories - Orient Museum

Native trees, shrubs, grasses and wildflowers have been planted across the street from Bank of Memories. Railroad memorabilia is on display near the site of the original depot, and Adair County artist, Ray “Bubba” Sorensen has done a painting of the depot on a large rock nearby.  A perpetually lit Veterans Memorial Flag has been erected there to honor the service and sacrifice of our veterans and to serve as a visual reminder of the price paid for our liberty and freedom. A Mormon Trail Interpretive Panel is  also located on the site.

The ABC City park, recreation “slab”, and Orient Lake provide for leisure activities. An historical marker commemorating Henry A. Wallace is located near the 22-acre lake, which offers excellent fishing, camping with electricity, picnicking, a shelter house, playground, frisbee golf course, horseshoe pits, and a walking trail.

Adair County Court House

Founded in 1856, Greenfield is the county seat for Adair County. The town features a “European  Style Square.” All streets lead to the middle of the square, in which the beautiful historic courthouse is centered.

One of the exciting buildings on the square is the E. E. Warren Opera House, which is currently undergoing a complete restoration. It should be complete in the near future and will be a cultural magnet for this area of the state. Built in the nineteenth century, many unusual features, recently rediscovered during renovation tell a fascinating story about this wonderful old buildings past.

E. E. Warren Opera House

The Andrews Memorial Community Center housing the Adair County YMCA was opened in 2003. The senior meal site is located in the same building  as is the American Legion. This cooperative effort was funded in part by a “Vision Iowa” grant.

Greenfield has many beautiful City Parks, two of which contain lakes, and one of which has overnight camping.  Lake Greenfield is a 236-acre park, with a boat ramp, fishing, sailing, shelter houses, picnic tables, grills, sand volleyball, frisbee golf, and a playground.  There is a 2-mile paved walking trail around the 44-acre lake.  

Lake Nodaway

Lake Nodaway is a beautiful, wooded 80-acre park with a 22-acre lake, providing excellent year-round fishing.  The campground

offers both tent and trailer camping, with showers and electricity, a shelter house, and a playground.  Hiking trails link to Lake Greenfield.

Fontanelle has the distinction of having busy Highway 92 form one side of its public square.

Veterans Mural

The city park centers the Fontanelle Square, which features an old-time bandstand, state-of-the-art playground and a mural honoring Veterans. A statue of Disney’s “Goofy” welcomes visitors to the playground. The town was named after Chief Logan Fontanelle of the Omaha Indian Tribe and a statute of Chief Fontanelle stands on the square in his honor. A mural by Ray “Bubba” Sorensen depicting the arrival of the “Cumberland Rose” train has been added near the entrance to downtown.

A great meal can be had at the Fontanelle Bar and Grill on the North side of the square. Closed Sunday and Monday.

Fontantelle Park

Fontanelle is the town where an historic auction started a nationally famous chain of events, which became one of the major fund raisers for the Red Cross Nursing Corps during WWI. It involved a cantankerous rooster and a creative auctioneer, who resold the rooster (known as General Jack) thousands of times. 

Delmar Miller Memorial Park, a lovely park with a footbridge,  has been established at the west entrance to town.

Adair Wildlife Area, a 320-acre wildlife habitat, managed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, provides a location for public hunting.  Deer, pheasant, and wild turkey abound in the area.

Crows Nest General Store

Casey is an antique collector’s paradise, with its Antique and Specialty Shops, Cobblestone Streets and Turn of the Century Architecture. Casey has three churches, a traveler’s park, a playground, volleyball and basketball courts, softball diamond, camping facilities with a shower house and electrical hookups, a shelter house and picnic areas.

This small but friendly town is located right off of Interstate 80, mile marker 83. Just 35 minutes west of Des Moines and 1 hour east of Omaha. A source of pride is Casey’s Veteran’s Memorial Park.  Built by a Casey youth group, it

features a wall mural by Ray “Bubba” Sorenson, depicting scenes from past wars. It is a special place to pause and reflect.

Wall Mural of Past Wars

Come visit and enjoy Casey’s warm hospitality! We welcome all visitors and would like to share our small town pride with you!

Be sure to visit Slayton’s Rock, one of Iowa’s largest fully exposed glacial deposits, weighing over 500,000 pounds.

Slaytons Rock

Mormon Trail Lake

Bridgewater is located one mile south of Highway 92 in western Adair County.

Walking down Main Street in this town is like stepping back in time. For a delightful feeling of the history of this region, a visit to Bridgewater is just the ticket. The romance of small town Iowa as it once was is still present here. 

The Bridgewater Cafe in the center of town offers good dining at small town prices. 

Bridgewater is the site of the only existing original livery barn in the county. 

Mormon Trail Lake and Park offers fishing, swimming, picnicking and camping and makes Bridgewater a good destination.  

An Interpretive Panel identifies the location where the original Mormon Trail passed close by this 35 acre lake. Well-defined ruts made by wagons on the Mormon Trail in 1846 can be observed nearby.

Adair County is the spot where the Mormon migration first encountered Indians.

Located at i-80 and Exit 76

Plaque of Last Train Robbery

Adair was laid out in the summer of 1872 by George C. Tallman, of Brooklyn, New York, on land that he owned.  This site was selected by the Rock Island & Pacific Railroad as the spot where the route linking the eastern and western boundaries of the state would meet.  It was the highpoint of the Rock Island Railroad in Iowa and it is located on a ridge forming the watershed divide between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

Adair was the site of the first train robbery in the west, and the world’s first robbery of a moving train.  On the evening of July 21, 1873, a mile and one-half west of Adair, Jesse James and his notorious band of outlaws, who had learned that there was to be a $75,000 shipment of gold coming through Adair, staged the robbery.  

Smiley Water Tower

However, the shipment was delayed and the robbers only collected about $3,000.  The gang fled to Missouri, where they divided the money and split up.

 ” Jesse James Days,” complete with parade and a reenactment of the train robbery, are celebrated every year on the third weekend of July.

Today, Adair is known by travelers far and wide for the smiling face on its water tower that cheers them as they drive across Iowa on Interstate 80!  A hub of manufacturing and farm businesses, Adair is still an active railroad center.