After relocating to Atlanta, he made his home in the Inman Park suburb, developed by his brother-in-law Joel Hurt.

[2] With his brother-in-law Joel Hurt, Woodruff founded the Atlanta and Edgewood Street Railroad, which ran its first electric trolleys on April 22, 1889.

Woodruff followed Hurt as president of the Trust Company in 1904; he held this post for 18 years before becoming chairman of the board.

With high costs of home and office deliveries, none of these companies were able to make much money on their own, but combined they made handsome returns to shareholders.

The restructuring of Atlantic Steel would set the table for the biggest move of Woodruff's career: the takeover of The Coca-Cola Company in 1919, which he negotiated with Asa Griggs Candler.