The Adams County courthouse on October 9, 2016
Adams County was created in 1848 from land that was originally part of Portage County. It was named for President John Quincy Adams who served as president from 1825 to 1829 and died in 1848.
The Village of Friendship is the county seat. It is located close to the City of Adams; so close in fact, that the combined entity is usually referred to as “Adams-Friendship.” Actually when you drive on Highway 13 through Adams, you would never notice the boundary with Friendship except for the sign that is there.
The Adams County courthouse is located at 400 Main Street in Friendship. Designed by Arthur Peabody (who designed many buildings for both the State of Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin), it was built in 1914. The decision to build it in Friendship was disputed by residents in the City of Adams. The courthouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
I visited Friendship (and Adams of course) on Sunday October 9, 2016. It was a beautiful fall morning, sunny and cool. I was able to park right in front of the courthouse and I immediately noticed a couple of things. First, there are so many trees so close to the front of the building that it’s very difficult to see the whole structure from anywhere on Main Street. Second, I noticed that the original courthouse building had been modified and two wings had been added to the structure. The northern wing is where the Adams County sheriff’s offices are. The southern wing is where the entrance to the courthouse is located. The original building in the center no longer has any entrances, though the stairs and handrails are still in place. So much for being on the National Register of Historic Places! The damage was apparently done in 1997 when the new courthouse wing was constructed.
After some pictures I headed north past Friendship Lake to the Roche-A-Cri State Park. The main entrance was closed because camping is not allowed this late in the season. So I parked in the winter parking area and hiked across the restored prairie towards the bluff. The park is not very big, but the trails are well laid out and marked, for the most part anyway. I climbed the staircase to the top of the bluff: it was a clear day and I could see a long distance from the viewing area. And then I went to see the Native American petroglyphs on the south side of the bluff. One note: because the bluff is soft sandstone, you must stay on the trails to minimize erosion. All in all, it was a very nice hike; I would definitely like to visit again.
As far as I know, this was my first visit to Adams County. Certainly it was my first visit to the Adams-Friendship area.