In June 1870, a group of men left Session Settlement, later called Bountiful, seeking a locality for a new settlement. They traveled north into Bear Lake Valley and continued over the divide to the new settlement formed by a company from Paris, Idaho, later named Randolph. There they learned of a stream about 10 miles farther on that would make a good settlement, and when they arrived they were pleased by the broad valley, green grasses, and willows. They made ponds in the streams that caused them to overflow and helped keep the valley green, with mountain trout in the streams and elk and deer herds in abundance. The Indians were friendly, and Chief Washakie was their leader at that time. In May 1871, Joseph C. Rich surveyed the town site, laying out a systematic pattern for home locations, and George Eastman built the first home. The settlement was named Woodruff in honor of Wilford Woodruff, who made frequent trips to Randolph to visit relatives. During 1895-96, the Woodruff area population was around 486, and residents eagerly awaited Utah statehood; when the news arrived by wire on Jan. 4, 1896, at 10:00 A. M., the town bell was rung for five minutes and again at noon. In Dec. 1930, Woodruff received its first power lines and also its first power outage because everyone wanted to use electricity. On Dec. 4, 1933, the commissioners granted Woodruff's petition for incorporation, and its first officers were B. D. Brown as president and James Stuart, Rowena Tingey, Cloyd Eastman, and Sarah Cornia as trustees. In January 1996, one hundred years after statehood, the Woodruff area population was around 350.