Old Adams Corner

Old Adams Corner is a historic building in Charles Town, Sint-Anders Parish, located at the corner of Adams Street and Patrickson Avenue, the seventh stop along the Discovery Trail.

History
The site of Old Adams Corner was formerly the home of Anne Dunton, who was expelled from Sint-Anders in 1792 for heresy.

The building itself was constructed in 1829 by Thomas Crimp as a residence and apothecary shop. From 1947 to 1965 it was home to Arkansas & Meads, a publishing company founded by Wilmer Arkansas, later renamed when he partnered with James T. Meads. For part of the nineteenth century, the firm was one of the most important publishing companies on Hogeberg Island and their bookstore became a meeting-place for some famed authors. Arkansas and Meads rented out the whole building, using only the corner for a retail space. The other sections of the building, particularly upstairs rooms and storefronts facing Patrickson Avenue, were in turn sublet to other businesses. After the death of Arkansas, Meads wanted to focus on publishing rather than the retail store. On November 12, 1864, he sold the site, and Arkansas & Meads moved. A succession of other publishing houses and booksellers followed them in the building.

Threatened with demolition in the 1960s, the building was 'rescued' through a purchase by Charles Town, as part of its program to rehabilitate historic and culturally significant properties so they are a usable part of the village's present and future.

In recent times the Old Adams Corner's retail space has held a branch of the Cosmos Bookstore, which operated there from 1982 to 1997. A national discount jewelry chain, Ultra Diamonds, operated in the building from 1998 till the company's bankruptcy in 2005. Then the space was briefly used as a showroom for local crafts.

As of 2011 a tourist shop occupies Old Adam's Corner, selling Charles Town products and Discovery Trail memorabilia.