Woods established the town at the point where Lower Sacramento Road - then the major thoroughfare between Stockton and Sacramento, crossed the Mokelumne River.  He had lived there, ferrying traffic across the river, since 1852.

Woods hoped one day that Woodbridge - Wood's Ferry before a town-plot was made in 1859 - would become the county seat of San Joaquin County.

Woodbridge began its decline in 1869 when what became the Southern Pacific Railroad Company decided to bypass Woodbridge and route its lines several miles to the east through the site that is now Lodi.

Today, Woodbridge is much the same as it was in the early 1900's.  The relatively small commercial area contains several historic buildings that date back to the 1890's.  Some of these buildings have been restored to their original condition and are now used as restaurants and stores.

Three of the historic buildings are the Masonic Temple and the Odd Fellows Lodge, which were built in 1882, and H.  Bently's general store, which was built in 1865 and today id the Woodbridge Feed and Fuel Restaurant.

Woodbridge Middle School, located on Lilac Street, lies on the site of a subscription college that was built in the late 1800's.  Today, it is part of the Lodi Unified School District and offers instruction to 7th and 8th graders.

While Woodbridge has failed to grow quickly as the town that lined the railroad, the community's combination of central location, rural atmosphere and scenic setting had made the area desireable in terms of residential development.

In the recent past, it has been necessary to discourage developments in the Woodbridge area because, the Woodbridge Sanitary District Wastewater Treatment Plant has been operating at or near design capacity, a 1979 sanitary district expansion study explained.  The district itself was established in 1947 by the county Board of Supervisors.

Population in Woodbridge was estimated in 1979 at 1,750 within the boundaries of the sanitation district.

San Joaquin County's general plan forecasts future growth to extend the boundaries of Woodbridge to the river on the north, Lodi to the south and the Woodbridge Irrigation District's canal on the southwest and west.

Filling in the area with residential developments will more that double both the population of the town and the number of housing units in the community.

BUILT IN 1865 - H. Bently's store still stands on Main Street in Woodbridge where it was built over 100 years ago.  When Bently lived upstairs, the two-story building was gas lit and a hot-air engine was used for pumping water.  Downstairs, Bently's store carried what was described as "the largest stock of general merchandised, owned outside of Stockton.  Today, the building houses the Woodbridge Feed and Fuel Restaurant.

Source:  Lodi News Sentinel - Published October 24, 1994.