Incorporated in 1811 as Wilkinson County’s seat, Woodville has barely expanded beyond its original grid plan and retains many of its Federal-style buildings. In 1842, the West Feliciana Railroad, the state’s first standard-gauge railroad, opened between Woodville and St. Francisville, Louisiana, roughly parallel to today’s U.S. 61, to transport Wilkinson County cotton to the Mississippi River for export overseas.
Today, Woodville is sustained by its status as county seat, heritage tourism, and visitors to the many hunting clubs that own much of the forested countryside. The Woodville Garden Club began historic house tours in 1938, and this early interest blossomed in 1971 into the Woodville Civic Club, the community’s primary voice for historic preservation.
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