The Charles Christopher Adams papers include correspondence, diaries, field notes, manuscripts, and photographs, all reflecting Adams' interests in biology, ecology and human ecology, geography, and zoology. The field notebooks are extensive, spanning the years 1888-1948. Of special interest are those on the Adirondack regions, 1919-1948 (2 boxes) and from his Latin American trip of 1948. The photographs are both family and professional, with many from his numerous field trips. Of significance are the photos and negatives from the Roosevelt Wild Life Experiment Station (N.Y. State College, Syracuse) and from the University of Montana Biological Station at Flathead Lake, Montana (1913). There is much personal correspondence with Wilda P. Mackenzie. A part of the collection pertains to his daughter, Harriet Adams, including exchanges with the Charles C. Adams Center for Ecological Studies at Western Michigan University, and her unfinished biography of her father.

This collection contains correspondence (approximately 150 letters), subject files, and notes on various research projects. The various subject areas include the central nervous systems, brains, and physiologies of many animals. Included are some anatomical drawings.