Addison (Webster Springs), WV

Addison, better known as Webster Springs, is the Webster County seat at the confluence of the Back Fork and Elk River. State Routes 15 and 20 meet in the valley, which sits at the end of Point Mountain and has long made the town a natural county crossroads. The town’s formal name is Addison, adopted when it was incorporated in 1892 for Addison McLaughlin, but the post office has been Webster Springs since 1902. The second name comes from the salt-sulphur springs that drew visitors to the valley.

The springs were first noted by settlers in the late 1700s and became a resort draw in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Webster Springs also grew around county government, coal, timber, and river travel. Today, the courthouse area, the Webster–Addison Public Library, and the Elk River keep the county-seat role visible. The town’s calendar carries the outdoor side forward with the Webster County Nature Tour, whitewater races, woodchopping, and Turkey Calling contests. With 731 residents in 2020, Addison/Webster Springs remains a small mountain town with two names and a very specific valley setting.