Woodbury

The founders of the area to become Woodbury came from neighboring Stratford, Connecticut in the early 1670’s. Ancient Woodbury consisted of present towns of Woodbury, Southbury, Roxbury, Bethlehem, most of Washington, and parts of Middlebury and Oxford. Two separate groups of settlers came from Stratford; one was a group of religious dissidents unhappy with the church in Stratford, whilst the other had been given approval by the general court to purchase land from local native American tribes in order to establish a new settlement. The two groups, consisting of 15 families (around 50 people in total) arrived in ancient Woodbury, known then as the Pomperaug Plantation, early in 1673. The settlement was renamed Woodbury - meaning ‘dwelling place in the woods’ - when it was first recognized a town in 1674. Deacon and captain John Minor was the first leader of the community during Woodbury’s early years. On October 9, 1751, the town was transferred from Fairfield County at the formation of Lichfield County. In 1673, the original settlers of what became Woodbury drew up an agreement called the ‘Fundamental Articles’ which proclaimed that as many settlers as could be accommodated would be welcomed to the new settlement. The Fundamental Articles stated that expenses of establishing the settlement would be shared by its inhabitants, and that no one was to be given more than twenty-five or less than ten acres of land. Other sections of the articles provided for common land, and for land saved to be divided up for future inhabitants of the settlement. We here at SURE LOCK & KEY have some Fundamental Articles of our own in providing the good people not only in Woodbury and surrounding area, but also of the great state of Connecticut overall, with the very best imaginable local residential, commercial, and automotive locksmith service in the current marketplace, bar none.