Hudson dates to 1699, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #193 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
Its Register listings are the Goodale Homestead, the Col. Adelbert Mossman House and the Felton Street School. Its Register listings are the Goodale Homestead, the Col. Adelbert Mossman House and the Felton Street School. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1828.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hudson’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hudson is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #193 of 283 in Massachusetts. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hudson’s overall grade.
Massachusetts towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Massachusetts town has 46.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Hudson’s 3.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1699.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.4 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Hudson’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hudson. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1887Marlboro sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hudson.
Every building
Hudson, building by building, 1888–1916
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Indigenous people lived in what became central Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European settlement. Indigenous oral histories, archaeological evidence, and European settler documents attest to historic settlements of the Nipmuc people in present-day Hudson and the surrounding area. Nipmuc settlements along the Assabet River intersected with the territories of three other related Algonquian-speaking peoples: the Massachusett, Pennacook, and Wampanoag.
Passages that mention Hudson, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts1890 · page 405Read the page →
Read the text
During the following winter the road was continued towards Hudson on the west and Boston on the east ; and July 22, 1881, nine car-loads of rails passed over the Central road, entering upon it at Waverly and going to Hudson. April 20, 1881, a train of cars passed over the road from Boston to Hudson ; and October 1st, the same year, regular trains began to run. May 16, 1883, the cars stopped running, and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Hudson, decade by decade
3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1699, according to Wikidata. Hudson’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1870 counted 3,389 people here.
How does Hudson rank for history?
Hudson is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #193 of 283 in Massachusetts. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Hudson?
Three places: the Goodale Homestead (listed 1975), the Col. Adelbert Mossman House (1982) and the Felton Street School (1986).
How old are the homes in Hudson?
23% of Hudson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.4 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1970.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (14), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1907
1907–1915
1911
c. 1912
1912
1915–1930
Date?
2026
2025
2024
2015
