Woodruff, UT

Woodruff is a Rich County town in the Bear River Valley, close to the Idaho border and the southern end of Bear Lake country. The 2020 census counted 169 residents. Mormon settlers arrived in 1870, surveyed the town site in 1871, and named the community for Wilford Woodruff. The planned streets and broad valley reflect the settlement's early agricultural purpose, with ponds, hay meadows, and livestock country spread beyond the town blocks. Its winter climate is severe, with long periods of snow and frost shaping the yearly routine.

Woodruff's town bell now hangs in front of Town Hall, a small object tied to the day Utah statehood news reached the community in 1896. Woodruff incorporated in 1933, and local government still serves a town shaped by ranching, irrigation, and long winter weather. Rich County's farms and grazing lands surround the settlement, while Bear Lake recreation adds a seasonal connection to the north. The town's compact grid sits in an open valley where the road, water, and mountain weather remain the main features of everyday life.