Adam S Alkire


Born in 1837, Adam Stout Alkire started out in Pickway County, Ohio. He lost his mother at age four and by age eleven he was on his own, learning to be a shoemaker. A hard master caused him to give up shoemaking and he turned, instead, to working for local farmers until, at age 16, he learned to be a carpenter and began to work with his brother.

In 1861, he enlisted in the 18th Indiana Veteran Volunteer Infantry where he rose to the rank of Orderly Sergeant of Company K.

He fought in the Civil War battles of Pea Ridge and Cotton Plant, Arkansas; the Siege of Vicksburg; and finally in several engagements under General Butler’s command in the Army of the James. While in the military, he married Rebecca A. Little. On July 2, 1864, he was injured in a battle at Deep Bottom, Virginia, and lost his leg. He was honorably discharged in March 1865.

For the next 17 years, he pursued a variety of trades in Indiana and Illinois including druggist, merchant, farmer, painter, and photographer. He lived in Chicago from 1866 to 1869.

In 1882, Adam, Rebecca, and their children Carrie and Charles left for California, choosing Riverside, where Adam’s brother James had settled in 1875.

In 1886, he was elected city clerk and assessor and was reelected again in 1888. Adam retired in 1890 and purchased land in the Mile Square, the original town plat for Riverside. He built a house at Third Street and Orange Street in 1893 and in 1899, built a new neoclassical style home with both electric and gas lighting at 3245 Orange. He was a founding member of Riverside Post No. 118, Grand Army of the Republic.