Judah Woodruff, a descendant of Matthew Woodruff, one of the original proprietors of Farmington, fought in the French and Indian War and was a captain in the Revolutionary War. He was also a builder who constructed the First Church and 21 houses in Farmington, including his own. The Judah Woodruff House, on Mountain Spring Road, was built in 1760 and features a Connecticut River Valley doorway.
Judah Woodruff House (1760)
Several years ago the owner of the Judah Woodruff House considered having two of the barns on the property removed. I responded and after a lengthy investigation and survey of the barns, concluded that one of the barns was in fact Judah Woodruffs shop building. This is where all of the architectural components were fabricated for many of his commissions.
I talked with the Farmington Historical Society and they seemed uninterested. The legacy of Judah Woodruff as a premiere joiner/builder of many of Farmingtons most significant structures makes his shop building very important.
Additionally, Judah Woodruffs 18th century tools are archived at the Whitman House in Farmington. Clearly, a thorough documentation and study of Judah Woodruff and his importance as a regional builder is in order before tangible evidence is lost forever.
Sir,
My wife (Janet Tabora-Davis) and myself have purchased the Judah Woodruff Homestead at 37 Mountain Spring Road and are in the process of rebuilding and restoring the property to it’s original splendor.We would appreciate any information or help in learning about the history and heritage of the Woodruff Family and the past owners of the Homestead.
Thank You Phone (860-570-0318)
Along with other women, we are writing a book about “Friends In Council,” the oldest continuing women’s study club in the United States. James Woodruff and his first cousin, Sarah Atwater Denman,
pioneered to Quincy, IL in 1842 and the three of them put down roots and became prominent citizens. Sarah founded “Friends In Council.”
One of our chapters will be about the Woodruff family, and Southington and Judah Woodruff is covered in this chapter, as wel as information of other Woodruffs and the history of Southington. I would like very much to have a photograph of this house to use in the Woodruff chapter. Could it be emailed to me in jpeg? I will give credit to the owner of the property, and photographer. Since we are
a literary group with about 50 members, I hope we will not have to pay a fee. We will have a printing of about 100 copies when the book is completed. Janet Conover
I am currently researching our Woodruff family genealogy and I am very excited to be learning about the Judah Woodruff House. My late husband, Stephen Marston Woodruff, MD, was a direct descendant of Judah Woodruff and of course my three children are anxious to learn more about their ancestors. I am having great success in tracing the Woodruff family back to England and Scotland as well. Please contact me with any further information you may have. Thank You.
My wife Janet and I are very interested in any information related to Captain Judah Woodruff and his homestead. We are the current owners and residents of the homestead and would like to trace back all the previous owners and the history of the property, including the major addition that was done sometime in the early 1900’s.
We welcome all interested parties to contact us and in addition invite anyone interested in visiting the homestead to reach us through this site.