Truman H. Judd

Truman H. Judd (October 27, 1817 – May 9, 1884) was an American businessman, contractor, manufacturer and railroad executive from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who served in the Wisconsin State Assembly as a Republican, and in his later years was active in the Greenback Party.

Judd was born in Milton, New York, in Saratoga County, New York, on October 27, 1817. With his family he was moved to Chemung County, New York when he was eleven. The family remained there several years, allowing Truman to witnessing the construction of the Chemung Canal. He was educated in the public schools of New York.

He lived for a time in Buffalo, and from that city he set out for Illinois in the spring of 1836, attracted to the West by what he had heard of its resources. He first visited Chicago, then a mere village showing little promise of future greatness. After a little time in Chicago, he continued on to Wisconsin Territory, only recently divided from Michigan Territory, and having traveled for some time through that region he returned to his native state. Two years later, having reached 21, he engaged in business on his own account as a contractor on the Genesee Valley Canal.

In 1843, he moved to Wisconsin and continued to operate as a public works contractor in that state. In 1844, he began building a turnpike road from Milwaukee to Muskego (a distance of twelve miles) funded by subscriptions of citizens of Milwaukee and the region interested in the improvement. Judd completed it in 1845, being the first highway from Milwaukee into the interior of the Territory. Soon after completing this project he moved on to Dodge County, where he built a sawmill and cleared virgin land which he developed into a farm.

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