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Office: Adair County Emergency Management – 200 N. 5th Street, Guthrie Center, IA 50115 | (641) 332-3030. Adair County E911 – 400 Public Square, Ste. 6, Greenfield, IA 50849 | (641) 743-2411.
Sheriff: Adair County Sheriff’s Office – 302 E. Iowa Street, Greenfield, IA 50849 | (641) 743-2148 | Fax (641) 743-7185; Email via county website. Hours: 24/7 for calls; Public Safety Center opened 2012.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-80 and US-6/US-92 serve Greenfield, the county seat, in southwestern Iowa.
Notes: Adair County was established in 1851, named for John Adair, a War of 1812 general and 6th Governor of Kentucky. The county seat was originally in Summerset (now Fontanelle) from 1856; after a contentious dispute – including an 1875 incident where a jail door was battered down and a prisoner lynched amid the feud – the Iowa Supreme Court confirmed Greenfield as the legal county seat in June 1875.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Adair County Courthouse – 400 Public Square, Greenfield, IA (built 1891-92, Romanesque Revival style, designed by S.E. Maxon; National Register of Historic Places since 1981, part of the Greenfield Public Square Historic District).
Notes: Adair County is home to a genuinely famous piece of American outlaw history: the Jesse James Historical Site, marking the location of the first robbery of a moving train in the American West. On the evening of July 21, 1873, Jesse James, Frank James, Cole Younger, and their gang derailed a Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad train about a mile and a half west of Adair, having been tipped off that $75,000 in gold was aboard; a delayed shipment meant they found only about $2,000 in the train’s safe (plus roughly $1,000 more from passengers), and the derailment killed the train’s engineer. Rock Island Railroad erected a monument – an upright locomotive wheel with a plaque – at the site in 1954; it now sits within a 7-acre restored-prairie park maintained by Adair County Conservation at 1156 White Pole Road, Adair.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Adair County Veterans Affairs – 270 Public Square, Greenfield, IA 50849 | (641) 743-2656.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Greenfield Public Library (Greenfield) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Jesse James Historical Site/Park, the Warren Opera House (NRHP 1979), and Hotel Greenfield (NRHP 2011) are the county’s premier heritage attractions.
Notes: The genuine, nationally recognized status of the Jesse James Historical Site as the location of the West’s first moving-train robbery is among the most well-known pieces of outlaw history covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Adair County Assessor’s Office – Courthouse, 400 Public Square, Ste. 1, Greenfield, IA 50849 | (641) 743-2531 | GIS mapping available via county website.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
⚠️ No confirmed dedicated Adair County animal shelter was found in current sourcing. Red Barn Veterinary Clinic (formerly Adair County Veterinary Clinic) – 407 SE Noble Street, Greenfield, IA 50849 | (641) 743-2138, offers 24-hour emergency veterinary care for pets and livestock but is not a shelter. Residents should contact the Adair County Sheriff’s Office, (641) 743-2148, for current animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Adair County Environmental Health / Landfill – confirm current contact via adaircounty.iowa.gov.
NOTES: Adair County is the first county in Iowa’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, nationally recognized status of the Jesse James Historical Site as the location of the West’s first moving-train robbery is among the most well-known pieces of outlaw history covered in this project. ⚠️ Animal services could not be confirmed and are flagged for follow-up rather than smoothed over. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Adair County County
Adair County is southwest Iowa’s Middle River agricultural county – the rolling creek valleys and corn and soybean fields define a traditional Iowa farming community where Greenfield serves the county’s agricultural population in the quiet southwest Iowa interior.
Greenfield (the county seat, population ~1,900) is Adair County’s governmental hub on US 6, a southwest Iowa agricultural community whose grain farming economy, Middle River watershed, and courthouse anchor its identity.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Adair County Assessor at 400 Public Square, Suite 1, Greenfield, IA 50849, phone 641-743-8612. IA assessed at actual value.
Courts & Legal
Adair County District Court at 400 Public Square, Greenfield, IA 50849, phone 641-743-2445, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
400 Public Square, Greenfield, IA 50849
(641) 743-2445
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Adair County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Adair County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Adair County District Court, 5th Judicial District 400 Public Square, Suite 7, Greenfield, IA 50849 (641) 743-2445
Adair County was formed in 1851, named for John Adair. The 1891-1892 Adair County Courthouse (Romanesque Revival, National Register of Historic Places) anchors the Greenfield Public Square Historic District.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Iowa has its own comprehensive probate code (Iowa Code Chapter 633) and has not formally adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Iowa offers several tracks depending on estate size and complexity:
Distribution by Affidavit (“very small estates”) – for estates where the gross value of personal property is $50,000 or less and there is no real estate, available 40 days after death under Iowa Code § 633.356. A sworn affidavit is presented directly to banks and other institutions. No court filing is required.
Small Estate Administration – a simplified probate process under Iowa Code Chapter 635 for estates with a gross value of $200,000 or less, with reduced notice requirements and court costs compared to full administration.
Regular (Full) Probate – standard administration through the district court for larger or more complex estates, which can be independent (unsupervised) or supervised.
Supervised Administration – closer court oversight, typically used for contested estates.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a Petition for Probate of Will and Appointment of Executor (if there’s a will) or a Petition for Administration (if intestate) with the Adair County District Court.
The court admits the will (if any) and issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (intestate) appointing the personal representative.
Publish notice to creditors; under independent administration, creditors generally have 4 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
The personal representative inventories assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and – under independent administration – largely acts without ongoing court check-ins.
After the creditor period closes and debts are paid, the personal representative distributes assets to heirs or beneficiaries.
File a final accounting/final report; the court closes the estate upon approval.
What it costs
Personal representative fees are capped by statute at 3% of the gross value of the probate estate (excluding life insurance) unless services are itemized; attorney fees follow a similar framework.
Recording fees at the county recorder run about $7 for the first page of a document and $5 for each additional page.
Typical timelines: Distribution by Affidavit – a minimum 40-day wait; independent (unsupervised) probate typically closes in 6-12 months, with the 4-month creditor period as the primary timing constraint.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
400 Public Square, Greenfield, IA 50849
(641) 743-2282
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY AUDITOR (Records, Elections, Finance)
400 Public Square, Greenfield, IA 50849
(641) 743-2546
ELECTIONS (County Auditor)
400 Public Square, Greenfield, IA 50849
(641) 743-2546
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Adair County Public Health / Adair County HHS – 400 Public Square, Greenfield, IA 50849 | (641) 782-1745 or (877) 394-1438 (served by the Union County HHS office; appointment only).
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County Facts
County Seat: Greenfield
Population: 7,100
Area: 569 sq mi
Established: 1851
Public Records
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