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C+History
History · Hudsonville

Hudsonville’s post office opened in 1872, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 40% of U.S. towns · #460 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it

Most of Hudsonville was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Its Register listing is the Hudsonville Christian School. Below: maps from 1958 on and the census since 1930.

1872first post office
1on the National Register
7%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Hudsonville began

When was Hudsonville founded?

1872

The Hudsonville post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, South Georgetown (1868), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 643 in 19302020 census: 7,629154 years

How historic is Hudsonville?

C+

More historic than 40% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Hudsonville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Hudsonville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hudsonville is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #460 of 701 in Michigan. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hudsonville’s overall grade.
Founding era1872, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19406.5% of homes (±2.7) · typical MI town 11.9% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register1 listing, 1.3 per 10,000 residents · typical MI town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 40%
NewerOlder
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 34%

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 Hudsonville’s 1.3 sits above most of its state (67% of Michigan towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B−. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Hudsonville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Hudsonville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hudsonville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hudsonville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Hudsonville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hudsonville.

Read it all →

Hudsonville was platted in 1873, soon after the Chicago and West Michigan Railway was extended to that point. The town was named for Homer E. Hudson, a pioneer settler, who was also the town's first postmaster. The early settlement of Hudsonville was next to a swamp, which hampered early development. In 1872, construction of the Chicago and West Michigan Railroad was completed. The railroad brought more settlers to the area, including many Dutch immigrants. Long a village within Georgetown Township, it became a city in 1957.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Hudsonville, 1868 to 1997

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868Post officeThe South Georgetown post office opens
  3. 1872Post officeThe South Georgetown post office closes
  4. 1872Post officeThe Hudsonville post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1917BuiltHudsonville Christian School is built
  7. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1984Born hereTyson DeVree is born here
  9. 1985Born hereKyle Clement is born here
  10. 1997Born hereBethany Bos is born here
  11. 1997Born hereJared Timmer is born here
By decade

Hudsonville, decade by decade

Today17 recent
Hudsonvillewelcomesign2023HudsonvillewelcomesignGeorgetown Elementary2020Georgetown ElementaryUnity Christian High School2019Unity Christian High SchoolHughes Park (1)2019Hughes Park (1)Hudsonville2019HudsonvilleHudsonville High School2019Hudsonville High SchoolHudsonville Early Childhood Center2019Hudsonville Early Childhood CenterHudsonville City Hall2019Hudsonville City HallHudsonville Christian Middle School2019Hudsonville Christian Middle SchoolHeritage Christian School (1)2019Heritage Christian School (1)Gary Byker Memorial Library Of2019Gary Byker Memorial Library OfHudsonville Unity Christian High School Building Panoramic2016Hudsonville Unity Christian High School Building Pano…Victory Farms in2011Victory Farms inHudsonville Christian School2011Hudsonville Christian SchoolFruit and Vegetable Growers Roundtable2011Fruit and Vegetable Growers RoundtableHudsonville, Michigan 20092009Hudsonville, Michigan 2009MIMap-doton-Hudsonville2005MIMap-doton-Hudsonville
On the map

Hudsonville on the map, 1958 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hudsonville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Hudsonville on the 1958 USGS mapHudsonville on the 1984 USGS map1958Grandville 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 Hudsonville.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Hudsonville

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2008
Hudsonville Christian School
Hudsonville Christian School, built 1917
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Clapboard1
Schoolhouse1
Hudsonville Christian SchoolClapboard · Built 1917

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Hudsonville, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,000194019601980200020207,629

Grew from 643 people in 1930 to 7,629 in 2020, more than tenfold.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hudsonville’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Hudsonville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Bethany BosAmerican soccer player · b. 1997
J
Jared TimmerAmerican soccer player · b. 1997
K
Kyle ClementPlayer of American football · b. 1985
T
Tyson DeVreePlayer of American football · b. 1984
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Hudsonville’s post office has been open since 1872. Another post office, South Georgetown, opened and closed inside today’s town.

South Georgetown
1868–1872
Hudsonville
1872–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Presidential Estates Mobile Home Park

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.

Georgetown TownshipIts storyC−Jamestown TownshipIts storyC+

Questions about Hudsonville’s history

What year was Hudsonville founded?

The Hudsonville post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Hudsonville rank for history?

Hudsonville is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #460 of 701 in Michigan. 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 Hudsonville?

One place: the Hudsonville Christian School (listed 2008).

How old are the homes in Hudsonville?

7% of Hudsonville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Michigan town; the median home was built in 1982.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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 (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.