The story
Read it all →How Hudson came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Hudson.
Hudson was named for Dr. Daniel Hudson, an original landowner. The city's motto is "Small Town Big Heart."
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Hudson
46% of Hudson’s homes were built before 1940
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 44 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1860.
5on the National Register
46%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
4famous people
Quick answers
About Hudson’s history
How historic is Hudson?
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What drives the grade ↓Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Hudson’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hudson is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs put Hudson near the top nationally; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hudson’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194046.1% of homes (±9.5) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register5 listings, 48 historic buildings, 218 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Among the top 1%
NewerOlder
Few Michigan towns list much on the Register (a typical Michigan town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Hudson’s 218 sits above most of its state (97% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 48 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.5 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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.
A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Hudson Downtown Historic District takes in 44 historic buildings.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1888 to 1919, drew every building in Hudson.Old housesHalf of Hudson’s homes were built before 1945.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Hudson’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hudson’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the National Register
5 listings protect 48 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
48
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Hudson Downtown Historic District
BuildingsDistricts
Architectural styles listings
Queen Anne1
Octagon Mode1
Greek Revival1
Hudson Downtown Historic DistrictDistrict
Gamaliel Thompson HouseQueen Anne
Dr. Leonard Hall HouseBuilding
Heman R. Goodrich HouseOctagon Mode
Lorenzo and Ruth Wells Palmer HouseGreek Revival
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Hudson, building by building, 1888–1919
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.
1888Sheet 1 of 3Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Hudson, 1836 to 1978
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1836Post officeThe Lanesville post office opens
- 1840Post officeThe Lanesville post office closes
- 1868
In the archiveHudson, Lenawee Co., Michigan 1868 - 1872
Born hereEdna Boies Hopkins is born here - 1880
Born hereBessie Boies Cotton is born here - 1888
Born hereClare Retan is born here - 1899Born herePinky Pittenger is born here
- 20th century
- 1962
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1978
In the archiveLeonard Hall House 1976
By decade
Hudson, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1860s1 item
1970s1 item
1980s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your albumToday10 recent
2011Hudson Municipal Building, 121 North Church Street
2011Hudson Cinema, 116 West Main Street
2011First United Methodist Church, 420 West Main Street
2011First Baptist Church, 111 East Main Street
2011Enos Caniff House
2010Lorenzo and Ruth Wells Palmer House
2010Hudson Downtown Historic District
2010Heman R. Goodrich House
2010Gamaliel Thompson House
2010Dr. Leonard Hall HouseOn the map
Hudson on the map, 1962 to 1979
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hudson. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1962Hudson sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hudson.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewHudson, Lenawee Co., Michigan 1868, 1868
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Hudson’s page.
Retake this view · +15People over time
Hudson, census by census
Between 1,489 and 2,773 people in every census since 1860.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hudson’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →4 famous people were born in Hudson
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Lanesville, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Gone or out of use
Hudson Stationlocale
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Hudson
Maple GroveOld CityOld Sacred Heart Church
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Hudson’s history
How does Hudson rank for history?
Hudson is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns. 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?
5 listings: 4 buildings and 1 historic district, the Hudson Downtown Historic District, with 44 contributing buildings. 48 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Hudson?
46% of Hudson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.5 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1945.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.