Addis was founded in 1881 as Baton Rouge Junction, an important roundhouse on the Texas and Pacific Railroad. From this roundhouse, passengers and freight were ferried across the river to Baton Rouge. The Texas and Pacific line was part of the company's transcontinental network designed to connect the East and West coasts by a southern route. Between 1908 and 1910, citizens changed the town's name to Addis in honor of John Wesley Addis, the superintendent of motive and rolling stock for the Texas and Pacific. In 1915, Governor L.E. Hall proclaimed Addis a municipality, and George Booksh, a Texas and Pacific telegrapher, served as its first mayor.