The initial settler of Juddville was Josiah Judd who was born in Blandford, Hampden County, Massachusetts in 1835, and came to Door County, probably from Connecticut in or around 1864. The town of Juddville was named after Josiah because he was the first person to permanently settle in the Juddville area.

Josiah and his wife Mary Ann ultimately had six children together. Existing land transaction records in the Door County Register of Deeds office in Sturgeon Bay show that sometime between 1865 and 1870, a family of Judds purchased land along the Green Bay shore approximately 3 miles south of Fish Creek. The family members recorded in the deed transaction were Josiah, Anna, Sylvester, and Lyman Judd. It is not clear who Anna is. She may be Josiah’s wife Mary Ann Judd. Sylvester is believed to be Josiah’s father, who died in Fish Creek in 1871, and Lyman is believed to be Josiah’s younger brother. (Source: “Josiah Justin Judd”, Family Search website, https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LH2Q-B95/josiah-justin-judd-1835-1923)

The land Josiah Judd and his family purchased was along the Green Bay shoreline between Juddville Road on the south and the area where the Peninsula Players Theater is today on the north. (Source: Neeck, Linda Smith. “Juddville: The Shadows of Our Yesteryear”, Door County Almanak – Farms, No. 4. Dragonsbreath Press, 1987,  p. 226.)

In census records every decade from 1870 until his latter years, Josiah’s occupation is listed as “Farmer”. (Source: “U.S. Census Records” available through the Family Research website, https://www.familysearch.org/search/record/results?q.anyDate.from=1923&q.anyPlace=fish%20creek%2C%20wi&q.givenName=Josiah&q.surname=Judd) 

Josiah Judd was listed in the March 30, 1865 edition of the Door County Advocate as one of dozens of Door County men drafted into the Union Army in the “last draft”. Since the Civil War ended days later, it is not known if he ever served in the military. (Source: “List of Drafted Men”. Door County Advocate, March 30, 1865, p. 3.  https://archive.co.door.wi.us/jsp/RcWebImageViewer.jsp?doc_id=ea91eb62-96e3-4ad5-b0c2-0fc095b362be/wsbd0000/20120910/00000152)

In 1892, Josiah donated most of the lumber used to build the Seventh-Day Adventist Church at the corner of Pine and Bluff in Fish Creek. True North Real Estate converted the church building and moved their business to the renovated building in 2017. (Source: Fitzgerald, Myrtle. “The Fish Creek Seventh-Day Adventist Church”. Fish Creek Echoes, John and Nancy Sargent (Publishers), Edited by Virginia Kinsey and Edward Schreiber, 2000, p. 108.)

In the April 8th, 1893 edition of the Door County Democrat, it was reported that J.J. Judd was elected town supervisor along with chairman C.A. Lundberg of the town of Gibraltar. This was a relatively prestigious position for both of these men who were inextricably linked to Juddville – Josiah Judd as its founder and C.A. “Alex” Lundberg as a prominent owner of the General Store located on the Juddville Bay shore for many years before he moved his business to Fish Creek. (Source: “In the County: Juddville” section, Door County Democrat, April 8, 1893, p. 8. https://archive.co.door.wi.us/jsp/RcWebImageViewer.jsp?doc_id=0a8b94b5-5745-457c-a604-522158934fc2/wsbd0000/20120718/00000011)

In the January 25, 1902 edition of The Advocate, Josiah Judd was listed as a health officer representing Gibraltar township at a meeting held to discuss measures to stamp out smallpox and other contagious diseases in the area. (Source: “Health Officers Meet”. The Advocate, January 25,1902, p. 4. https://archive.co.door.wi.us/jsp/RcWebImageViewer.jsp?doc_id=8f54ce8d-a713-43a4-8c81-e336d5a992e4/wsbd0000/20130111/00000317)

Josiah Judd died at the age of 87 on February 6, 1923. A service for him was held at his home and at the Seven-day Adventist church in Fish Creek. (Source: “Fish Creek: Death Claims Josiah Judd”, The Door County News, February 15, 1923, p. 6. https://archive.co.door.wi.us/jsp/RcWebImageViewer.jsp?doc_id=88b0dabc-478c-4621-a4a1-0ae7125b6234/wsbd0000/20120718/00001781)