For today’s Wakefield’s Women profile, the Wakefield Historical Society will salute one of its own in the person of Miss Ruth A. Woodbury.

Born of ancient Yankee stock in 1902, Ruth was the daughter of Dr. Frank Woodbury (who descended from Mayflower settlers) and Mary H. Whittle Woodbury, who traced her own lineage to the early days of our town. Ruth graduated from Wakefield High School in 1920 and Simmons College in 1924.

A member of the Planning Board for an astonishing 29 years, Ruth also distinguished herself as an officer of the Wakefield MA Garden Club and member of the Mansfield Class of the Unitarian Universalist Church. She also served on the Hall Park Committee, a salary study committee under the School Committee and the School Building Needs Survey Committee.

She is best known, however for her dedication to the preservation of the town’s history. Ruth was one of the original group which restored the house and one of the original corporators of the Col. James Hartshorne House Association, and served on the board of directors for many, many years.

An active member of the Wakefield Historical Society, her combination of hard work, dedication, enthusiasm was responsible for much of the material in the Society’s files. A knowledgeable and interesting speaker, she was much in demand as a lecturer on the town’s history. If you wrote to ask the Society a question, you were likely to have received a carefully typed response (which she often copied to our files.)

The Town of Wakefield honored Miss Woodbury by dedicating the Town Report in her honor in 1974 in recognition to her unmatchable service to the town. They also named her honorary Town Historian.

(This writer never did meet Miss Woodbury, since she died in 1985, just about the time that I became involved in all things Wakefield history, but there is no doubt that her contributions to the preservation of the town’s history were profound, and profoundly appreciated! )

The house at 21 Chestnut Street where her father had his medical practice and Ruth and her sister Dorcas grew up still stands, and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

(We recently were given a copy of her high school graduation photo, which we have been happy to share here, along with a much later photo.)

If you have been enjoying our “Wakefield’s Women” profiles, published daily in March in recognition of Women’s History Month, please follow Wakefield Historical Society on facebook and instagram. All of our profiles are saved also to our blog on wakefieldhistory.org Many are also shared through the courtesy of the Wakefield Daily Item.