Adamsville: Stanislaus County's short-lived & forgotten county seat

Four miles west of Ceres stands a roadside monument that could be considered a grave marker for an establishment that died long before Abraham Lincoln was president.

If it weren’t for the plaque on Service Road west of Jennings Road, one wouldn’t know that a short walk north toward the Tuolumne River was the settlement of Adamsville, the first county seat of Stanislaus County.

Nothing remains of the establishment, founded in the days when river ferries cropped up everywhere and waterways accommodated barges carrying supplies to the growing region or freighting out cattle, wool and sacks of wheat grain milled at such places as Daniel Whitmore’s warehouses in Ceres. The farthest east on the Tuolumne River that a steamer could reach was Morley’s Ferry which was anchored north of what is now Turlock Lake.

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The barn that was used as the Adamsville Courthouse stood at least until the mid-1960s. I know this for a fact because my Uncle Don knew the landowner and had permission to fish the river there although I didn't realize at the time what it was. I thought it was just an old falling down barn. I figure it to be 1964 or 65 so I was maybe 5-6 years old at the time?

Anyways, back in the late 1980s I was doing research on the county and decided to try and find the old town site of Adamsville. Remember, this was before the days of the internet so I spent a few hours at the local county museum as well as the libarry trying to find the sonofabitch. When I finally thought I had the location pinpointed, I jumped in the truck to head out there, thinking "Man, this route seems kinda familiar," only to find myself at Don's fishing hole, minus the barn/courthouse.

I parked and walked over to the house, introduced myself and stated my business, then asked if they minded if I wandered around a little bit and took some pictures and the old boy said no problem.

I asked about the barn and he told me it was torn down and some of the lumber from it was used in that shed over yonder. He got a kick out of me asking if he would cut me a sliver from one of the older pieces for my collection of neat shit. He was cool about it though - he cut the sliver and let me prowl around the location that was conveniently marked with foundation cornerstones until I found a couple square nails from the structure. I've still got that sliver and the nails laying around here somewhere.