Kirksville is a city in and the county seat of Adair County, Missouri,
United States. Located in the Benton Township, its population was
17,505 at the 2010 census. Kirksville is home to two colleges: Truman
State University and A.T. Still University.Kirksville was laid out in
1841 on a 40-acre (0.06 sq mi; 16.19 ha) site, and was first
incorporated in 1857.Kirksville was laid out in 1841 on a 40-acre
(0.06 sq mi; 16.19 ha) site, and was first incorporated in
1857.According to tradition, Jesse Kirk, Kirksville's first
postmaster, shared a dinner of turkey and whiskey with surveyors
working in the area on the condition that they would name the town
after him. Not only the first postmaster, Kirk was also the first to
own a hotel and a tavern in Kirksville.Contrary to popular belief, the
name of the city has no connection to John Kirk, onetime president of
Truman State University from 1899 to 1925. However, the grandson of
Jesse Kirk reported that the town was named for Kirk's son John, a
figure of local legend credited with killing two deer with a single
bullet. "Hopkinsville" was explained as a joking reference to the
peculiar gait of John Kirk's lame father-in-law, David Sloan; the
jocular name was discarded when the village was selected for the seat
of justice in Adair County. Kirksville, Missouri Top Movies & Young Movies