Hermit, Bogeyman, Gentle Soul? Find out the truth this Saturday, Feb. 20

Hermit’s Way and Hermit’s Cave take their name from John Woodruff, who lived in the hillside above the Catholic Cemetery.

By Karl Vercouteren with additions by Tom Peterson

Hermit’s Way and Hermit’s Cave take their name from John Woodruff, who lived in the hillside above the Catholic Cemetery in the Dalles.

“John S. Woodruff: Hermit of the Cave" is the topic of the third program of the Original Wasco County Courthouse 2022 Regional History Forum. Georga Foster will present the program at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19. Due to COVID-19 precautions, programs will take place on Zoom as they did a year ago, and not at the historic 1859 Courthouse.

A story about Woodruff appeared in the Oregonian in 1904. He was quoted as such:

“It was while serving as night watchman at a hotel in The Dalles 12 years ago that I first came here,” said the old man to one of his visitors. “At that time I took long rambles after my work was done and in one of my jaunts found the little cave on the mountain side. At the hotel I was troubled with Insomnia. I came here to sleep and my slumbers were sound. Gradually I enlarged the cave…

That is just a taste of this fascinating history of Woodruff.

Access is free at this link: http://OWCCZoomLink.info and those needing help getting Zoom on a computer or cell phone may leave a message at 541 296-4798. There is a limit of 100 participants. The host will open the Zoom meeting at 1:15 p.m., the presentation starts promptly at 1:30, and admission ends once the program begins.

Foster is president of the Columbia Gorge Genealogical Society and volunteers at the Discovery Center library. She has researched the life and times of John Woodruff, the hermit. Stories still circulate a century later about the man who lived as a recluse, yet welcomed people to his “castle” on the hill above West 13th Street and Cherry Heights. Foster has come up with a different profile of the man who led a singular existence while leaving a mark on the history of our town.

The online presentation, just like in-person programs over the past 40 plus years, is free. But donations to the Original Courthouse are gladly accepted.