HAPPY BIRTHDAY WOODBURY....

Did you know today is Woodbury's 116th birthday???

On this date, December 19, 1889, the Orange County Board of Supervisors (the predecessor of the modern day County Legislature) carved out the Town of Woodbury and the Town of Tuxedo from the much larger Town of Monroe. The original Town of Monroe included all of Highland Mills, Central Valley, Woodbury Falls, Southfields, Tuxedo Hamlet, and the town stretched as far as the foot of the present day Bear Mountain Bridge. Those areas near Fort Montgomery were given to the Town of Highlands.

This was not the first time the Board of Supervisors carved two new towns from Monroe. In 1863 the board voted to create the Town of Highland (in essence Woodbury) and the Town of Southfields (in essence Tuxedo) The towns lasted for one year 1864. Morgan Shuit of Highland Mills, the long time Supervisor of Monroe, was elected Supervisor of Highland. Shuit Place in Central Valley is presumed to be named after him. However, opposition to the split caused the State Legislature to overrule the county board, and the original Town of Monroe was re constructed. Morgan Shuit returned to the Monroe Supervisor post and served in that role for many more years.

The first meeting of the Woodbury Town Board, led by the first Town Supervisor, Republican John Patterson was held in March of 1890.

So hats off to our town on her birthday...may she have many more!!