David Woodward, born June 26,1856 in Watertown, son of a farmer, attended local schools and married Helen Baldwin, also from Watertown. David and Helen had two children, a daughter, Marion and a son, Clarence, who died in infancy. Moving to Atlanta Georgia at the age of thirty, David Woodward, a financier, was engaged in many gainful business enterprises in the Atlanta area and amassed a large private fortune. At the time of his death, Mr. Woodward served as president of the Woodward Investment Company. The Woodward family lived in Georgia for forty-five years but retained their family home on DeForest Street in Watertown, where they summered each year. They were in Watertown on July 16, 1931, when Mr. Woodward died at the age of seventy-five due to the complications of appendicitis. His wife Helen died just three weeks later leaving their daughter, Miss Marion Woodward.
Tributes to Mr. Woodward were numerous and gracious. Quoted from The Atlanta Journal of Thursday, July 16, 1931; “He enjoyed splendid success in business and even greater success as a man.” “Upstanding citizen, an individual in whom the highest attributes of friendship and brotherliness were blended.” “His life was without ostentation or show but was forceful and deep through its very simplicity.” “He had a fine conception of charity. His life was not a philanthropist accompanied by public recognition, rather he chose to take an inconspicuous seat.”
His hometown of Watertown was also a recipient of Mr. Woodward’s generous philanthropy. His founding of the Watertown Foundation in 1925 was to establish a foundation to receive donations from “people of great wealth and modest means” to be invested and the income used for the purpose of improving the living and social conditions in the town of Watertown. And as we begin our celebration of the Centennial of the Watertown Foundation, we recognize and celebrate the vision and the generosity of David Woodward and are grateful for his presence and dedication to our community. It is a wonder to consider the number of people affected by the wisdom and foresight of David Woodward.
One hundred years later, we continue his legacy, we follow his lead, we continue to invest in our neighbors in subtle yet meaningful ways. David Woodward was a brilliant financier, yet mankind was his business. The trustees of the Watertown Foundation, in researching the life of our founder, believe that he would approve of the philanthropy that we continue in his name. We embody our motto, “Connecting our Community Through Giving.”