Town of Woodbury

This self guided north tour, through a National Register Historic District, begins at the Shove building. Cross the street (South Main Street - Route 6).

You are facing the house Noah Benedict built for his son in 1795.

Walking north along the sidewalk you will pass many 18th and 19th century homes, now used for both residential and commercial purposes.

The federal style First Congregational Church was built in 1818.

The temple-fronted Old Town Hall was built in 1846.

Turn left on Judson Ave and continue past Manville Glacial Kettle. This property, 6.5 acres, was the first land donated to Flanders Nature Center in 1973. It was formed by a glacier circa 12,000 BC. It is now the home to wood ducks, red wing blackbirds, turtles, frogs, spring peepers and migrant waterfowl.

Turn right on School Street, which borders the kettle. The Salt Box house was built before 1700.

Turn left on Washington Avenue. Walk up through North Cemetery, which was first used for burials in the 1830's. It was owned and operated by the town until 1906, when it was turned over to the Woodbury Cemetery Association.

Turn right on Church Street toward the United Methodist Church. The entrance of the church originally faced Main Street but the congregation found that two flights of stairs up to the entrance was too steep a climb, so in 1875 the church was turned to face Church Street.

Turn left on Main Street. The small brick structure was used as the Town Clerk's office until 1952, and is now the archives of the Historical Society. Charles Hurd sold to the town just enough land to accommodate a building with the condition that the Town retain use of the property or it would revert to his heirs. Consequently, the town continues to store some records there.

Across Washington Road is the North Congregational Church, built in 1816.

Opposite is Canfield Corner, the center of Woodbury The building was constructed in 1875. It was purchased by Harry Canfield and used as a pharmacy, complete with soda fountain, that still exists today. The park in front marks the end of the trolley line which ran from Waterbury from 1908 to 1931.

The walk around the park and back down Main Street takes you past many 18th and 19th century houses. #36 was the site of the original school house, #50 was built in 1791 and #100 was built circa 1770.

St. Teresa Catholic Church, in the neoclassical revival style, is the newest addition to Woodbury's religious structures, constructed in 1904.

The North Walking Tour of Woodbury ends at the Shove Building. Total distance covered is 2.2 miles.

South Tour

The self-guided south tour, through a National Register Historic district, begins at the town office buildings and heads south on Main Street.
The Shove Building was the home of Dr. Harmon Shove and was built in 1867

The Episcopal Church across the street was built in 1785. The small building on the right housed the town's probate office until 1956, when the office was moved to join the town offices.

As you walk south along Main Street you pass a series of five Greek Revival houses, starting with the Lewis Building built in the 1840's. #331 is a stick style Victorian. #337 is an early Colonial. #345 is a Gothic Revival.

Across the street #3467 is a center chimney colonial built in 1753.

The Civil War monument was built in 1871 on Cannon Green to honor 56 men from Woodbury who died while serving in the Union Army.

Turn left on Park Road. The house on Webb's Pond is a gambeled roof farm house built in 1750. Most of the pond is owned by the town as part of Orenaug Park.

The entrance to the park is marked by two stone pillars made up of stones from all 50 states. It marks the beginning of a hiking trail that goes up the mountain and ends at the town offices. Click here to see pictures from our walk thru Orenaug Park, up the mountain, and to the top of the fire tower.

#11 Orenaug Avenue is the site of the home of Zechariah Walker, the first minister in Woodbury. The present house was built in 1721.

At the end of Orenaug Avenue, facing Main Street, is the Greek Revival King Solomon Masonic Temple, built in 1839, the oldest in continuous use in Connecticut.

The one room schoolhouse for District 2, built in 1867, was used until 1900. It has been authentically restored by The Old Woodbury Historical Society.

Hollow Road takes you past the Flower Shop, formerly a blacksmith shop.

The Hurd House, built circa 1680, is one of the oldest houses on its original site in Connecticut. It is currently the property of, and has been restored by, The Old Woodbury Historical Society.

Across the street is the colonial home of Jabez Bacon built circa 1763. The adjacent building served as his store and was built circa 1750. Unconfirmed reports put Jabez as the first millionaire in America.

The Glebe House, circa 1745, has been authentically restored. It is where ten clergy met in 1783 to elect Samuel Seabury, the first Episcopal Bishop in the United States. The house was restored in 1923. Its English garden was designed by Gertrude Jekyll in 1927 but not planted until 1988 when the plans were found at the University of California.

A walk through the Old Cemetery takes you past the Father's Monument to the first three ministers in Woodbury, Zechariah Walker, Anthony Stoddard, and Noah Benedict, and back to the Shove building.

Length of tour is 1.2 miles.

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