The Village of Adamsville

Side A: The Village of Adamsville commemorates life in this area as it was during the early to mid-19th century. The original Adamsville settlement was located on the banks of Raccoon Creek, roughly one-half mile east of this site. Adam Rickabaugh (1761-1836), a veteran of the Revolutionary War from Virginia, brought his family to this valley around 1804. His patent for land along the creek was signed by President Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of State James Madison. Soon after his arrival, Rickabaugh built a grist mill, which became a meeting place for the growing community. In 1805, Nehemiah Wood, one of the earliest settlers in Gallia County, bought the mill from Rickabaugh, later adding a sawmill and a fulling mill for cleaning and thickening woolen cloth. (Continued on other side) Side B: (Continued from other side) Although Adamsville was never incorporated, the little settlement grew and prospered. The village was divided into plots by Rickabaugh’s sons, Adam and William, in 1837. A post office was established in 1846. The Adamsville Hotel, located along present Farmview Road, provided an important stagecoach stop between Gallipolis and Chillicothe. After Rio Grande College was established in 1876, the village’s center was moved a few miles away to higher ground around the college and away from the creek’s occasional flooding. From 1971 to 1992, the village of Adamsville was recreated at the location of the original settlement on the Bob Evans Farm along Raccoon Creek. Because of continued flooding and the ravages of time, the five log structures representing the village were dismantled, moved to their current location, and renovated during 2011-2012.