The City of Woodbury, one of the oldest "small cities" in the United States, had its beginning in 1683 when Henry Wood, a Quaker from Bury, England, settled here.

By 1715 Woodbury had become a Quaker religious center and was a thriving hamlet at the onset of the American Revolution.
Given our close proximity to Philadelphia, Woodbury had a significant place in the history of our nation’s birth.

The Red Bank Battlefield, where Fort Mercer is located and where in 1777 six hundred determined American’s defeated a Hessian force of six thousand, lies just two miles west of Woodbury.

The famous British General Lord Cornwallis, who would later surrender to George Washington at Yorktown, had his headquarters in Woodbury during his advance to capture the City of Philadelphia in 1777.

By the mid-nineteenth century Woodbury had grown considerably and was incorporated as a City in 1871. The City of Woodbury enjoyed its greatest economic and population growth between 1880 and 1900. This was accomplished in large part as a result of the Green family and their patent medicine industry.

Woodbury has been the County Seat of Gloucester County for over two centuries. The County continues to this day to develop its operational base throughout the City of Woodbury. This fact, along with the growth of Underwood Memorial Hospital, has made Woodbury the legal and medical hub of the immediate vicinity.

Recently, Woodbury has also begun to experience a commercial rebirth owing greatly to the efforts of Woodbury Main Street Inc. As we have entered the new millennium, the city of Woodbury is poised to play its appropriate part in enhancing history yet to be recorded.

*City History courtesy of Woodbury City website.