Addison, MI

Addison is a village in Lenawee County, Michigan, straddling the line between Rollin Township and Woodstock Township. The village covers about one square mile, with Bean Creek and a small dam-and-mill-pond landscape giving the place its early shape. John Talbot settled here in 1834 and built a grist mill; the first settlement was called Manetue, then Peru, before Addison was entered on the plat map in 1851. The village incorporated in 1893.

The name changes are the fun part of Addison's local map. A mill settlement became Manetue, then Peru, then a village named for Addison J. Comstock, the Adrian banker whose land purchase reset the town's identity. The railroad arrived in 1883 and brought a burst of business, including a three-story hotel and a long-running newspaper. Today Addison Community Schools and the small village center keep the place connected across the two townships. The local scoop is that Addison is a mill town with several old names, a railroad chapter, and Bean Creek still running through the story.