A Square Celebration: 150 Years of History June 22-26, 1994, Page 7

Early Settlers In addition to Alvin Judd, early settlers in Woodstock included: James M. Judd, William E. Dean, E.L Smith, Neill Donnelly, John Donnelly, Abel Fuller, William Beach, Levi Sherwood, Oscar Beach, Josiah Dwight, George Griffing, and Lindsey Joslyn and his sons Merritt Lindsey, Edward and F.C. Joslyn. Alvin Judd Born in 1799 in Chester, Massachusetts, Alvin Judd moved to McHenry County in 1936, farming three miles north of Woodstock. He was the original owner of the greater part of land on which the central portion of Woodstock now stands. He, along with his brother James, George Dean, Bradford Burbank, and Joel H. Johnson, laid out the village of Centerville (later named Woodstock) after a plan of his former home in South Hadley Falls, Massachusetts. He built the first frame house near the intersection of E. Jackson and Benton Streets, and used his house as entertainment for travelers. Subsequently, he built a hotel, called the Exchange, where the Old Court House now stands. In 1849, he and others from Woodstock traveled to the California gold fields. He returned 13 months later, ran a series of stages between Woodstock, Beloit, Elgin and Waukegan, and engaged in a mercantile business. Judd was elected the first village president in 1852, and was Woodstock's first postmaster, running the post office out of his home. He was a Justice of the Peace, and a member of the Board of Aldermen. He and his wife, Eliza White, had 10 children. Alvin Judd died in October of 1881. George Dean An attorney, George C. Dean came to Centerville in 1844, buying the original plat from Alvin Judd and recording it in June of 1844. Dean built a frame court house and jail on the property and offered it to the county for the county seat. William H. Beach Beach came to McHenry County in 1837 and built the first county court house in McHenry in 1840. Beach later relocated to Woodstock with the transfer of the county seat in 1844. Photo by J.S. Medlar Joel H. Johnson Originally from the town of Woodstock, Vermont, Johnson was instrumental in securing passage of the bill changing the name of Centerville to Woodstock in 1845. Johnson, pictured above, came to McHenry County in 1836 and to Woodstock in 1844. Johnson built the third building in the new town, a frame house in the winter of 1845-6. Josiah Dwight^ Oscar Beach Dwight and Beach opened the first store in Woodstock in 1845. Lindsey Joslyn Born in Sudbury, Massachusetts, Joslyn arrived in Crystal Lake in the mid-1830s and moved to Woodstock in 1848 upon his election as probate and county judge. His son Merritt Lindsey Joslyn was a lawyer in Woodstock, a captain in the Union army, a member of the Illinois House and Senate, and the first assistant secretary of the Interior under President Chester Alan Arthur. The Joslyn addition to the city of Woodstock was platted in February 1899.