William E. Adams (Terms 1906 - 1914 & 1920 - 1924)

William Emery Adams (May 13, 1854 – June 16, 1934) was a Deadwood businessman, banker, politician, civic leader and philanthropist.  Born in Bertrand, Michigan on May 13, 1854, Adams was the fifth of nine siblings that grew up on a farm near Fairbault, Minnesota.  In 1877 at the age 23, he and his brother James arrived in Deadwood Gulch and opened a whole and retail grocery store at the corner of Wall and Main Street.  Over the next six decades Adams’s grocery business prospered.  In 1901, Adams quit his retail grocery business and founded the Adams Bros. Wholesale Grocery Company and the Pioneer Fruit Company located at 51 - 55 Sherman Street.  Adams is also accredited for helping establish Deadwood’s first municipal park (today’s Gordon Park) in 1912 and backed the construction of the Mount Roosevelt Tower Memorial in 1919.  Adams also helped fund water troughs for horses, provided American flags for schools and churches and helped facilitate the installation of Purington Brick pavers on Deadwood’s Main Street.

In the civic arena, Adams served on numerous boards including the Board of Directors of the American National Bank and First National Bank of Lead; president of the Franklin Hotel Company; president of First National Bank of Deadwood; member of the Deadwood Chamber of Commerce and director of other civic organizations.  In the political arena, Adams was elected Mayor of Deadwood twice:  1906 to 1914 and again in 1920 to 1924.

In 1930, Adams organized and funded the creation of a museum dedicated to the memory of those early pioneers who helped settle and build Deadwood.  Adams then donated this museum to the City of Deadwood.  On October 4, 1930, the Adams Memorial Hall Museum was officially dedicated and opened its doors to the general public.  Four years later on June 7, 1934, Adams suffered a stroke during a board meeting of the First National Bank.  He died nine days later at age 80 on June 16, 1934 and was buried with his family at Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum in Altadena, California.  A memorial stone honoring the Adams family is located in Section 10 Lot 1 of Mount Moriah Cemetery.