By: Burton Sterling

Addison was incorporated on October 31, 1912 and reincorporated on December 29, 1949

In the earliest days of Addison, the place was a willow thicket. It was his (Mr. Walter Freeman) job to round up the steers each morning to work. One steer wore a bell in order to make finding easier. The steer learned to hide in the thicket and lay down, allowing the bell to rest on the ground. This made him hard to find.

The first business was in a log cabin with a pole suspended in the middle of the house. On the pole hung horse collars, harness, trace chains, plow gear, etc. Later other items were added. In the year 1888, the population had grown to the point that it qualified for a post office. The Post Office Department (as it was called then) asked for the applicants to supply a name. One was furnished but there was already one in the state by that name. The Department asked for another name. One was supplied, but it was also a duplicate. The applicants then asked for the department to supply the name. They gave the name Addison.

For probably centuries the willow leaves drifted into a draw that reached from where the traffic light is, east to where the housing is now. The decaying leaves created a blue muck which was spongy. This muck was dug out by earth-moving machines and placed along where Addison Tire now is and southward. Sand from near Powell’s Building Supply was used to replace the muck. (The above related to the building of Highway 278 in the late 1940’s).

The following happened in more recent years, (the early 1950’s). Mrs. Billie Smothers wrote a letter to a relative who lived some distance away. Her sons Steve and Stan were asked to carry the letter to the Post Office on Steve’s bicycle. Stan rode the handlebars. He needed both hands in order to stay on. Steve needed both hands to steer the bicycle. No hands were left to hold the letter. They placed the letter in Stan’s mouth. When they reached the Post Office the part that was in Stan’s mouth was dissolved. The letter went through.