The first automotive electric store in Medford, Ore., Witham鈥檚 Battery and Electric Service, was established in 1923 by H. Clay Witham.
The small business did so well that a single-story concrete building that sold auto parts, the Witham Service Stations, opened on South Riverside and Eighth streets five years later. By 1937, the business continued expanding other buildings and took the name Witham Super Service. After World War II, a new company, Witham Parts and Equipment, began selling trucks.
Medford grew along with the Withams. The construction of Interstate 5 changed the use of Highway 99. Rod Witham and his father, Harlan, built a truck stop on 20 acres along Biddle Road near the North Medford interchange. Between 1965 and 1968 the truck stop was expanded to include a gas station, a repair shop and Witham鈥檚 Restaurant. The Witham Truck Stop celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015.
Witham Truck Center was popular with both long haul truck drivers and locals before being sold and closed. One of the owners remarked, 鈥淲e鈥檝e done well in this town.鈥�
Sources: Stiles, Greg. "Witham Truck Center announces deal." Mail Tribune, 2011, mailtribune.com/archive/witham-truck-center-announces-deal; "Witham Service Station." Landmarks and Historic Preservation Agenda. City of Medford, Oregon, 2018, pp. 13-14, ; Gossen, Scotty. 鈥淪cotty Gossen Exposed鈥� Apr. 2015, scottygossonexposed.blogspot.com/2015_04_19_archive.html.
