William Edward Woodruff (December 24, 1795 – June 19, 1885) was an American politician and publisher who served as the first state treasurer of Arkansas from 1836 to 1838. He also served as the 10th postmaster of Little Rock from 1845 to 1846. Woodruff was the first publisher of a major Arkansas newspaper.

Biography

William Edward Woodruff was born on December 24, 1795, in Suffolk County (Long Island), New York. He was apprenticed to a Brooklyn printer at the age of 14, and, in 1818, headed west to work in Kentucky, Tennessee, and finally the newly created Arkansas Territory, founding The Arkansas Gazette in November 1819. Woodruff supported the Confederacy in the U.S Civil War and, aged 68, served as a soldier under Confederate Major-General Sterling Price; defending the city of Little Rock against the Union. Woodruff died in Little Rock on June 19, 1885, and is buried in the historic Mount Holly Cemetery. Woodruff County, Arkansas, is named for him.