Adair, or Adairville, was a Mormon settlement established in 1878 in what was then Apache County of Arizona Territory. It was located about three miles northwest of Show Low. This area became Navajo County on March 21, 1895. Arizona officially became a state February 14, 1912.
Adair was founded by Wesley Adair and his brother Thomas Jefferson Adair Jr., and Thomas' wife Mary Vance.
Wesley and Thomas are the sons of Thomas Jefferson Adair 1771-1856 and Rebecca Brown 1776-1846. Wesley was a member of Company C of the Mormon Battalion and one of eleven children born to this family. Mary Vance is the daughter of Adam Vance and Catherine Penrod.
Wesley Adair married Rebecca Mangum (b. c. 1820) at Gibson, Tennessee.
Wesley Adair married Harriet C. Williams (b. c. 1821) around 1843.
The Adair family built a home about one fourth of a mile from Show Low Creek. Soon, other families came and settled on the hills and in the valley. It was a beautiful county but had a limited water supply. The settlers cleared the ground and grew corn and sugar cane taller than a man. They also grew wheat, beans, and other vegetables.
Many of the Adairs and other families left the area to move to Show Low and surrounding regions. Aaron Adair lived on the place for some years after that and was told "nobody but a fool would try to make a living there" (Barnes, 1988, p. 9) The settlement was renamed "Fools Hollow" and is now the site of Fools Hollow Lake. All traces of Adair are gone now except for the cemetery. The cemetery is in Show Low, Arizona 85901. It is located about one mile east of Fools Hollow Lake, at the end of 22nd Avenue and Old Linden Road. Directions to the Adair Cemetery are head North on 22nd Ave off of Old Linden Road in Show Low. Go to the last driveway and turn right. Proceed on that driveway until reaching the cemetery. The cemetery is about 100 meters off of 22nd Avenue.
Etta Colvin, who died of smallpox, was the first person to be buried at Adair Cemetery in February, 1883. The Cemetery was fenced by the Show Low Ward on March 13, 1923. John Lorenzo Willis was Bishop and leader of the project. When the cemetery was fenced, Willard Whipple & Emma Whipple, Edson Whipple & Rowena Whipple, Daniel Mills & Sarah Mills, Mary Ann McNeil, Mary Stock, Lucinda Reidhead, James Clark Owens, and others, identified the graves, and some information was gathered. In 1954, Fred L. and Emma H. Adams were assigned to gather additional information. (Records of Emma Hansen Adams)
Sources:
PAF - Archer files = Captain James Brown + (7) Phebe Abbott > Orson Pratt Brown
Photos and information from
http://www.nformd.com/Petersen%20Mormon%20battalion%20photos.htm : I and my wife were just in Arizona following parts of the Mormon Battalion trail in which Adair, a Richey, and other related parties participated in America’s longest infantry march. I will be sending several photos I shot along the way. The best book on the subject is of course by our cousin Norma Ricketts. Hope you enjoy the photos to follow.--Kerry Petersen
http://www.nformd.com/More%20Reunion%20photos.htm
http://home.att.net/~dtadair/index.html
Additions, bold, [bracketed], some photos, etc., added by Lucy Brown Archer
