HUDSON HISTORY by Sue Keeran Member of the Hudson History Club Hudson township is comprised of 5700 acres, Money creek and several other small creeks. Prior to the 1830’s there were a few early settlers but for the most part had Indians (including the Potawatomie tribe) and many wild animals. Jesse Havens was an early settler who helped establish the first settlement in this area called  Havens Grove – just west of I39 on the north side of the Hudson road.  On the 1874 plat it shows about 8 families that lived in Havens Grove. In 1835 the Illinois Land Association was formed in Jacksonville. This was a period of high speculation for this part of the country. A number of people came from the east to settle in this area. Most of Hudson township was entered in the name of Horatio N. Pettit. On July 4, 1836, the colonists drew lots for their land. Their package for $225 included 160 acres of land, four town lots in the future village, and a share in the net profits of the corporation. Some of the other inducements held out was a church, a school and a cemetery. The original school called the Seminary school was built in what is now the older part of the cemetery and the Baptist Church used that building for their activities. Also town meetings were held there. About 1875 a two story school was built on the same land and later in 1903 the building was moved into the village and it became a residence. One of the inducements that did not work out was the giving of 20 acres of timber land to each buyer. By the time the offer was made other persons had purchased the timber land. The village of Hudson was named Hudson because a number of the early settlers came from Hudson, New York. Some of the earliest settlers who built homes in Hudson included James T. Gildersleeve, Jacob Burtis, William McClure, Valentine Wheeler, Silas Hubbard, and just outside the Village was the Jacob Ham home. Of course there were a number of farms that sprang up in the Township. In 1837 hard times hit and most of the growth stopped until after 1850. About 1853 the purchase of land began for the railroad right of way that ran through Hudson. In early times the railroad had both passenger service and freight service. Several of our residents rode the train to Normal to attend school. The “downtown” district began in the 1850’s and had several liveries, a general store, a bank, several elevators, boarding houses/hotels, a barber shop, a doctor, a coal and lumber yard, and several lodge halls. Over the years we have added a number of other businesses. In 1916 land was purchased for $200 for the Town Hall. At a town meeting on April 4, 1916, $5000 was approved to build the Town Hall. In early years movies were shown in the building, dances were held, basketball games were played, in the building, medicine shows were put on and a number of groups still continue to meet in the Town Hall  and also have other activities, dinners and events. We are proud of the history of Hudson and the forefathers that built the whole Township. We thank Ruth Hamm, who in 1976 published the book, The Hudson Colony, that documented much of the early history of Hudson. Today we benefit from these early settlers work and planning. We feel it is our mission to keep the village and township growing, yet keep our small town feeling. Thank you to everyone who continues to work towards these goals.