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109-875: Gleasondale is a village straddling the border between the towns of Hudson and Stow in Middlesex County , Massachusetts , United States. It is located along the Assabet River . For many decades it was home to various mills, though it is now primarily residential. According to the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) , Gleasondale is a "populated place" named after Benjamin W. Gleason and Samuel J. Dale. 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

218-753: A Polish American club, and other Portuguese American clubs. In 2003 the Hudson Portuguese Club replaced its original Port Street clubhouse with a function hall and restaurant built on the same site. The Portuguese American community in Hudson traces its history to at least 1886, when a certain José Maria Tavares arrived in town. José's brothers João "John" and Manuel joined him the following year. In 1888 three more Portuguese immigrants reached Hudson: eighteen-year-old José "Joseph" Braga, and António Chaves and his sister Maria. In 1889

327-497: A broadband internet subscription. The Town of Hudson has an open town meeting form of government, like most New England towns. The executive assistant is an official appointed by the Select Board who is responsible for the day-to-day administrative affairs of the town. They function with authority delegated to the office by the town charter and bylaws. The current executive assistant is Thomas Gregory. The Select Board

436-630: A dry goods store in the hamlet from 1799 onward and served many years as a Marlborough selectman, town clerk, town assessor, and postmaster. Today, Felton remains immortalized in the Silas Felton Hudson Historic District and two Hudson street names: Felton Street and Feltonville Road. According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 11.8 square miles (30.7 km ), of which 11.5 square miles (29.8 km )

545-417: A factory for waterproofing fabrics by rubber coating were constructed. Private banks, five schools, a poor farm , and the current town hall were also built during this time. The population hovered around 4,000 residents, most of whom lived in modest houses with small backyard gardens. Some of Hudson's wealthier citizens built elaborate Queen Anne Victorian mansions, and many of them still exist. One of

654-446: A fellow Lithuanian American, operated a silver fox farm. The community was large and active enough to support the social and recreational Lithuanian Citizens' Club, located on School Street from 1926 to 1960. Hudson's population hovered around 8,000 from the 1920s to the 1950s, when developers purchased some farms surrounding the town center. The new houses built on this land helped double Hudson's population to 16,000 by 1970. From

763-595: A few miles of paddling northeast until the mill dam in the Stow section of Gleasondale . On the border with Stow are Lake Boon , a popular vacation spot prior to the widespread adoption of the automobile but now a primarily residential neighborhood, and White Pond , which historically provided drinking water to Maynard and is still owned by that town. On the border with Marlborough is Fort Meadow Reservoir , which once provided drinking water to Hudson and Marlborough. The Town of Hudson owns and maintains Centennial Beach on

872-414: A few residential buildings, plus a small industrial complex in the old mill buildings. It does not have a large enough population to support a post office, and uses the same zip code as Stow, 01775. The dam remains, even though it no longer provides hydropower. 42°24′22″N 71°31′36″W  /  42.4062°N 71.5267°W  / 42.4062; -71.5267 Hudson, Massachusetts Hudson

981-481: A fire that burned down 40 buildings and 5 acres (20,000 m ) of central Hudson. Nobody was hurt, but the damages were estimated at $ 400,000 in 1894 (the equivalent of approximately $ 11.1 million in 2018). The town was substantially rebuilt within a year or two. By 1900, Hudson's population reached about 5,500 residents and the town had built a power plant on Cherry Street. Many houses were wired for electricity, and to this day Hudson produces its own power under

1090-422: A flood hold-back capacity in excess of 3.5 trillion US gallons (1.3×10 L). The Nichols Dam also serves as a water-providing reserve in times of low water, to help maintain some flow in the river. The two most recent major floods were in 1987 and 2010; for both, water level at the gauge peaked at 7.1 feet (2.2 m), and volume was 2,500 cubic feet (71 m ) per second. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote in praise of

1199-644: A flow rate of 2,300 cubic feet (65 m ) per second as measured at the gauge maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey on a site near the Waltham Street Bridge in Maynard. The gauge site is downstream of 114 square miles (300 km ) of the 177 square miles (460 km ) making up the Assabet River drainage. Major tributaries below the gauge which can contribute to downstream flooding are Fort Pond, Spencer, and Nashoba brooks. According to

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1308-486: A hurricane, and here scarcely a ripple across the shaded water. Henry David Thoreau regularly visited and often took his students, including Louisa May Alcott , on educational boat trips up the Assabet River. Thoreau wrote a poem titled "The Assabet" to a love interest; its first stanza references rowing upon the river and reads: Up this pleasant stream let's row For the livelong summer's day, Sprinkling foam where'er we go In wreaths as white as driven snow— Ply

1417-477: A portrait portraying one of the library's major benefactors: Charles Hudson, Lewis Dewart Apsley , and Andrew Carnegie. Apsley funded his own portrait as well as that of Charles Hudson, while the portrait of Carnegie was a 1935 gift from the Carnegie Corporation . These portraits are displayed on the landing of the stair going up to the third floor reading room. Hudson Public Library is a member of

1526-640: A quiet reading room, and also houses the periodicals collection, a community meeting room, and staff offices. In 1966 a two-story Modernist addition was added at the rear of the original building, more than doubling the library's size. The children's department, housed on the library's first floor, was expanded and renovated in 2002. The second floor serves as the adults' and teens' department. The Hudson Public Library's collection has grown to approximately 65,000 books, periodicals, audio recordings, video recordings, historical records, and other items as of 2020. As part of its collection HPL owns three oil paintings, each

1635-528: A religion are likely Roman Catholics or Protestants , based on the churches existing in town. A small portion of town residents are Jewish , Muslim , Buddhist , or Orthodox , but there are not currently synagogues, mosques, temples, or Orthodox churches in Hudson. Nevertheless, the town lends its name to the 1907 Hudson Incident —a key event in the Albanian Orthodox Church 's formation—in which an Albanian nationalist died in Hudson and

1744-517: A sawmill on Tannery Brook, a tributary stream of the Assabet River today crossed by Main Street, in the mid-1700s. This was followed by another mill on the Assabet in 1788 and a blacksmith 's forge in 1790. Joel Cranston opened a pub and general store—the settlement's first—in 1794. Silas Felton (1776–1828) arrived in the settlement in 1799, joining Cranston in business: it was not long before

1853-648: A separate Marlborough , claiming the journey to attend Hudson's town meeting was "vastly fatiguing." Their petition was denied by the Massachusetts General Court . Samuel Witt later served on committees of correspondence during the 1760s. At least nine men from the area fought with the Minutemen on April 19, 1775, as they harassed British troops along the trade route to Boston. The area established itself as an early industrial center . Business partners Phineas Sawyer and Jedediah Wood built

1962-492: A separate town. They cited the difficulty of attending town meeting, as their predecessors had in 1743, and also noted that Marlborough's high school was too far for most Feltonville children to practicably attend. This petition was approved by the Massachusetts General Court on March 16, 1866. A committee suggested naming the new town Hudson after Congressman Charles Hudson , who was born and raised in

2071-575: A short form of nippe , "water", used in compounds; and a locative suffix, -t , a shorter form of -et after the vowel, so its name in Loup means "at the place where the river turns back". During floods the Assabet River reaches peak height sooner than the Sudbury River, so that at the junction of the two rivers the Sudbury's direction of flow can temporarily reverse. A Eurocentric interpretation

2180-729: A small but well-documented Lithuanian American community. This community originated in 1897, when Anthony Markunas arrived in Hudson. Another early Lithuanian immigrant was Michael Rimkus, who owned and operated a grocery store on the corner of Loring and Broad streets from 1908 to 1950. It appears Lithuanians came to Hudson from larger communities located in Nashua , Worcester , and Boston . Apparently Hudson's Lithuanians were known for their herb gardens—where they grew rue , chamomile , and mint —and beekeeping . For many years Mr. Karol Baranowski maintained on apiary on Lois Street (now Mason Street). His next-door neighbor Dominic Janciauskas,

2289-719: A stint at Bridgewater State Hospital Feather was released in 1915. Until its closure in 1965, the Gleasondale Station—one of two train stations in Hudson—served the village. It was originally operated by the Central Massachusetts Railroad Company , and later by Boston & Maine . The station's name is printed as " Rocky-bottom " in an 1888 map of the Central Massachusetts Railroad. Today Gleasondale has

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2398-483: A village of Marlborough, Massachusetts , which would later become the town of Hudson. In 1830 Cranston and Felton sold the mill to Benjamin Poor. In 1849 business partners Benjamin W. Gleason and Samuel J. Dale purchased the mill. They built the existing five-story brick mill building in 1854 after the original wooden building burned on May 8, 1852. In 1898 the village was renamed Gleasondale in honor of Gleason and Dale, and

2507-641: Is Hudson Public Schools , a district open to Hudson residents and through school choice to any area students. The superintendent of Hudson Public Schools is Dr. Brian Reagan. Prior to starting ninth grade Hudson students may choose to attend either Hudson High School or Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School . Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School is open to students from Berlin, Hudson, Maynard, Northborough, Southborough, Westborough, and Marlborough. The first public library in Hudson opened in 1867 thanks to $ 500 (~$ 10,900 in 2023) in financial assistance from Charles Hudson and matching funds provided by

2616-573: Is Rev. Thomas John. The First Federated Church on Central Street was built between 1967 and 1968. It is a Baptist – Congregational church associated with American Baptist Churches USA and the United Church of Christ . The Baptist portion of the federated congregation traces its origins to 1844, when Feltonville residents invited a revivalist preacher to hold services for them. This Baptist community grew large enough to build and open their own Feltonville Baptist Church building in 1851; it

2725-669: Is a group of publicly elected officials who are the executive authority of the town. The Select Board was formerly known as the Board of Selectmen. The title was officially changed by an affirmative vote of Article 26 of the Hudson Town Meeting on May 1, 2021. There are five positions on the Hudson Select Board, currently filled by Scott R. Duplisea, Judy Congdon, Diane G. Bemis, James D. Quinn, and Steven C. Sharek. The Select Board elect from among their membership

2834-563: Is a mostly suburban bedroom community with many residents commuting to Boston or Worcester . Before becoming a separate incorporated town in 1866, Hudson was a neighborhood and unincorporated village within the town—now city—of Marlborough , and had various names during that time. From 1656 until 1700, present-day Hudson and the surrounding area was known as the Indian Plantation or the Cow Commons . From 1700 to 1800,

2943-400: Is a town in Middlesex County , Massachusetts , United States, with a total population of 20,092 as of the 2020 census . Before its incorporation as a town in 1866, Hudson was a neighborhood and unincorporated village of Marlborough, Massachusetts , and was known as Feltonville . From approximately 1850 until the last shoe factory burned down in 1968, Hudson was a mill town specializing in

3052-630: Is an invasive aquatic plant native to western Asia. It was initially introduced in the United States in the 1870s in Cambridge, Massachusetts , followed by deliberate introduction into ponds near the Concord and Sudbury Rivers. It is now an invasive, habitat-destroying plant across many eastern states, including along the Assabet River. On the Assabet River, OARS organizes an annual plant pulling event in early July. Volunteers in canoes hand-pull

3161-487: Is land and 0.3 square miles (0.9 km ) (2.87%) is water. The Assabet River runs prominently through most of Hudson. The river arises from wetlands in Westborough and flows northeast 34 miles (55 km), starting at an elevation of 320 feet (98 m). It descends through the towns of Northborough , Marlborough , Berlin , Hudson, Stow , Maynard , Acton , and finally Concord , where it merges with

3270-532: Is partially breached so it does not retain water, though it slows flow at flood times. A tenth mill dam—Paper Mill Dam in Maynard—was destroyed by the 1927 flood. As of 2020, 39 road bridges, two Assabet River Rail Trail pedestrian and cycle bridges, the Taylor Memorial Bridge (a pedestrian bridge) in Hudson, one abandoned railroad bridge in Hudson, and one active railroad bridge in Concord cross

3379-458: Is that the river's name is a corrupted spelling of Elizabeth, or an attempted transliteration of the Nipmuc name. Various historic maps and documents denote the river's name as Asibath, Assabeth, Asabett, Assabet, Elizbeth, Elzibeth, Elizabet, Elizabeth, Elsabeth, Elsibeth, and Isabaeth. The uniform spelling "Assabet" was not adopted until at least 1850. Historic maps up until 1835 mostly label

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3488-574: Is the dam, but upstream provides miles of flat water—depending on the season, as far southeast as the dam at Millham Reservoir in Marlborough. Another canoe and kayak launch exists farther upstream behind Hudson High School, accessible via an unpaved parking lot on Chapin Street. There is also boat access downstream of the dam at Main Street Landing, accessible from the paved Assabet River Rail Trail parking lot on Main Street, and providing

3597-711: The Azorean island of Santa Maria , with a smaller amount from the island of São Miguel , the Madeira islands, or from the Trás-os-Montes region of mainland Portugal. The Portuguese community in Hudson maintains the Hudson Portuguese Club, which was established in 1919. It has outlived Hudson's other ethnic clubs, including the Buonovia Club ( Italian American ), the Lithuanian Citizens' Club,

3706-530: The CW MARS regional library consortium and catalog. This allows Hudson cardholders to borrow items from other central and western Massachusetts public libraries and gives cardholders from those libraries access to Hudson's collection. In fiscal year 2008, the Town of Hudson spent 1.19% ($ 614,743) of its budget on its public library—approximately $ 31 per person, per year. The majority of Hudson residents who practice

3815-930: The Concord River . The Assabet's watershed covers 177 square miles (460 km ). The Assabet marshes in Stow measure about 900 acres (360 ha), and the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge and environs in Stow, Maynard, Sudbury, and Marlborough encompass 2,600 acres (1,100 ha). According to U.S. Geological Survey records the average flow at the gauge in Maynard is 200 cubic feet (5.7 m ) per second. February, March, and April flows average greater than 300 cubic feet (8.5 m ) per second. July, August, and September flows average less than 100 cubic feet (2.8 m ) per second, with some weekly flows averaging less than 40 cubic feet (1.1 m ) per second. Five municipal wastewater treatment plants discharge cleaned water into

3924-622: The Massachusetts Central Railroad and the Fitchburg Railroad , later the Central Massachusetts Railroad Company , and later by Boston & Maine , until both were closed in 1965. Railroads allowed the development of larger factories, some of the first in the country to use steam power and sewing machines . By 1860, Feltonville had 17 shoe and shoe-related factories, which attracted Irish and French Canadian immigrants. Feltonville residents fought for

4033-593: The National Weather Service , "The 1927 hurricane season brought a tropical storm that swept northward across western New England on Nov. 3-4, 1927. As its warm, humid air rose over the mountains and hills, torrential rains fell, causing severe flooding over extensive areas in virtually all of northern New England and the upper Hudson basin in New York. Much of New England had been soaked by rains throughout October. In all, 85 people were lost." Locally,

4142-595: The Nipmuc people near and along the Assabet River. Nipmuc settlements on the Assabet intersected with the territories of three other related Algonquian-speaking peoples: the Massachusett , Pennacook , and Wampanoag . European settlement in what would become Gleasondale began around 1750 when a certain Whitman family and Ebenezer Graves constructed a dam and lumber mill on the Assabet River . The Whitmans—who owned

4251-582: The Sudbury River to form the Concord River , at an elevation of 100 feet (30 m). The dam in central Hudson is one of nine historic mill or flood control dams on the Assabet River. A portion of the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge is located in Hudson. There are various public access points to the Assabet River in Hudson. The back of the Hudson Public Library parking lot provides access to launch canoes and kayaks. Downstream

4360-442: The Taylor Memorial Bridge to the town, connecting the public Wood Park and Apsley Park across the Assabet River. Today, the majority of Hudson residents are of Irish or Portuguese descent, with lesser populations of Brazilian, Italian, French, French Canadian, English, Scotch-Irish, Greek, and Polish descent. About one-third of Hudson residents are of Portuguese descent or birth. Most people of Portuguese descent in Hudson are from

4469-448: The genus Cambarus . The Assabet's shaded banks provide prime mating grounds for damselfly and dragonfly species, as they mate near streams and wetlands and lay their eggs underwater. Damselfly species in the area include bluet , black-winged damselfly , eastern forktail (Massachusetts's most common damselfly), and violet dancer . Dragonfly species mating along the Assabet include cherry-faced meadowhawk and other species of

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4578-502: The red-tailed hawk lives in the area year-round. American kestrels and northern harriers hunt in the area primarily during the fall. Naturally, multiple fish species inhabit the river. Brook trout , chain pickerel , and largemouth bass are common. The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife stocks brook trout in the Assabet's tributaries, including the above-mentioned Elizabeth Brook, though there are existing natural populations. Chain pickerel live in weedy areas along

4687-579: The 1970s through the 1990s high-technology companies built plants in Hudson, most notably the Hudson Fab semiconductor factory built by Digital Equipment Corporation in 1979. Just before Digital folded in 1998, Intel bought this facility. Under Intel's ownership, the plant continued producing silicon chips and wafers . At the height of the Great Recession in the late 2000s, Hudson lost many local businesses. Particularly affected were

4796-532: The 2000 census, there were 18,113 people, 6,990 households, and 4,844 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,574.4 inhabitants per square mile (607.9/km ). There were 7,168 housing units at an average density of 623.0 per square mile (240.5/km ). The racial makeup of the town was 94.12% White , 0.91% Black or African American , 0.13% Native American , 1.40% Asian , 0.06% Pacific Islander , 1.40% from other races, and 1.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.06% of

4905-534: The Assabet River (three upstream of the Maynard gauge). In summer months this cumulative contribution of more than 10,000,000 US gallons (38,000,000 L) per day (roughly 10 cubic feet (0.28 m ) per second) can be more than half of the river's total volume. As of 2020 there are nine dams on the Assabet River. Seven dams powered mills: Aluminum City, Allen Street, Hudson, Gleasondale , Ben Smith, Powdermill, and Damonmill / Westvale. The Nichols and Tyler dams are modern dams built for flood control . Damonmill Dam

5014-673: The Assabet River intersected with the territories of three other related Algonquian-speaking peoples: the Massachusett , Pennacook , and Wampanoag . In 1650, the area that would become Marlboro and Marlborough was part of the Ockookangansett Indian Plantation for the Praying Indians . During King Philip's War , English settlers forcibly evicted the Indias from their plantation, imprisoning and killing many of them; most survivors did not return after

5123-419: The Assabet are rarely seen by humans. Various native amphibians inhabit the Assabet River watershed. Common species include American bullfrog , green frog , leopard frogs , and pickerel frog , all of whose vocalizations may be heard during the spring and summer. Spring peeper , wood frog , and eastern newt also live in the area. At least one crustacean calls the Assabet home: freshwater crayfish of

5232-409: The Assabet watershed, including American black duck , blue-winged teal , common merganser , mallard , pied-billed grebe , ring-necked duck , and wood duck . Depending on the time of year, one may see some birds of prey along the Assabet. The osprey is uncommon but may be encountered near the Assabet, especially in Stow and Hudson. The migratory broad-winged hawk is common in the fall, while

5341-405: The Assabet's banks. Blue flag and yellow flag —the latter particularly abundant between Hudson and Stow—grace the riverbanks with color. Other wildflowers present in the area include arrow arum , arrowweed , bittersweet nightshade , cardinal flower , jewelweed , joe-pye weed , pickerelweed , purple loosestrife , swamp loosestrife , swamp smartweed , sweetflag , true forget-me-not , and

5450-481: The Assabet's proximity to differing habitats such as forests, pastures, fields, and marshes, a wide variety of birds live in or migrate to the area. The belted kingfisher —the only kingfisher of the northeastern United States—summers and sometimes winters on the lower Assabet. The migratory American yellow warbler , Baltimore oriole , common grackle , common yellowthroat , eastern kingbird , gray catbird , northern flicker , tree swallow , and wood thrush inhabit

5559-603: The Assabet. Largemouth bass thrive in the Assabet Reservoir and in the calm waters before Hudson. Other native fish one may encounter on the Assabet include American eel , black crappie , brown bullhead , golden shiner , northern pike , pumpkinseed , white sucker , white perch , yellow perch , and a few other small species. Common mammals living near the Assabet include minks , muskrats , raccoons , red foxes , and white-tailed deer . North American river otters are less common but may be encountered along

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5668-457: The Assabet. Other early settlers include Jeremiah Barstow, who built a house near today's Wood Square in central Hudson, and Robert Barnard, who purchased the house from Barstow. The area became known as Hoe's Mills, Barnard's Mills, or simply The Mills throughout the 1700s. The settlement was originally part of the town of Hudson. In June 1743, area residents Samuel Witt, John Hapgood, and others petitioned to break away from Hudson and become

5777-582: The Atlantic Ocean upstream into the Merrimack River and then up the Concord, Assabet, and Sudbury rivers. The Industrial Age brought mill dams to these rivers. The dams denied alewife access to the upper reaches of the rivers, causing their local extinction. Beaver was common in the Assabet watershed in pre-colonial times. Concord was in part founded as a beaver pelt trading site between Native Americans and English colonists. Around 1630 it

5886-506: The Azorean islands of Santa Maria or São Miguel. By 1916 immigrants from mainland Portugal reached Hudson, including a certain João "John" Rio and family. As early as the 1920s, Hudson's Portuguese population exceeded 1000 individuals—more than 10% of Hudson's total population at the time. Some were employed as factory workers, though many also owned small businesses. Hudson also welcomed

5995-459: The Feltonville neighborhood. By his own account, in response to this honor, Charles Hudson offered to donate $ 500 (~$ 10,405 in 2023) towards establishing a free public library. Town citizens gratefully voted to accept Congressman Hudson's gift. Over the next twenty years, Hudson grew as several industries settled in town. Two woolen mills, an elastic-webbing plant, a piano case factory, and

6104-640: The King Roman Catholic Church (see below). On the morning of September 23, 1965, a fire severely damaged the 1877 Baptist church, which had to be demolished. After fundraising for a new structure, the First Federated Church broke ground at Central Street on Palm Sunday , March 19, 1967, and opened the new church on Palm Sunday one year later, April 7, 1968. The church's current pastor is Rev. Yvonne Miloyevich. The First United Methodist Church of Hudson on Felton Street

6213-706: The Lady of Fátima Feast / Festa da Nossa Senhora de Fátima. The oldest of these is the Império Micaelense festival, which traces its origins to 1914. Such festivals are a common religious and sociocultural event in the Azores and in Portuguese communities of Azorean descent throughout the United States, Canada, and Brazil. Carmel Marthoma Church on River Road is the newest church building in Hudson, constructed in 2001. The congregation traces its beginnings to

6322-399: The Nipmuc near and along the Assabet River. Nipmuc settlements on the Assabet intersected with the territories of three other related Algonquian-speaking peoples: the Massachusett , Pennacook , and Wampanoag . The Assabet River rises from a 310-acre (130 ha) swampy area in Westborough known as the Assabet Reservoir. Streams located in the towns of Shrewsbury and Grafton feed

6431-462: The November 11, 1927, issue of The Maynard News reported damaged bridges, flooding at mill buildings closest to the river, and flooding further east at American Powder Mills. The Waltham Street Bridge—situated next to what is now Tedeschi Food Mart in Maynard—was destroyed in the flood. The bridge dated to 1840, and was widened to accommodate an electric trolley track and sidewalk in 1900. The bridge

6540-779: The Union during the American Civil War . Twenty-five of those men died doing so. Two existing houses—the Goodale Homestead on Chestnut Street (Hudson's oldest surviving building, dating from 1702) and the Curley home on Brigham Street (formerly known as the Rice Farm)—have been cited as waystations on the Underground Railroad . On May 16, 1865, Feltonville residents once again petitioned to become

6649-403: The area became known as Feltonville. Feltonville's—and later Hudson's—significant role in the shoe industry may trace its origins to Daniel Stratton. A shoemaker , Stratton opened his Feltonville shop in 1816, expanding it to a small factory on Washington Street in 1821. In the 1850s, Feltonville received its first railroads. There were two Feltonville train stations, originally operated by

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6758-426: The area in the springs, summers, and sometimes falls. Other species— black-capped chickadee , cedar waxwing , downy woodpecker , tufted titmouse , and white-breasted nuthatch —live near the Assabet all year round. Some bird species visible from the river inhabit primarily fields, pastures, and old buildings, including American woodcock , barn swallow , bobolink , killdeer , and song sparrow . Bobolinks nest in

6867-559: The auspices of the Hudson Light and Power Department, a non-profit municipal utility owned by the town. The brick Hudson Armory building accommodating local Massachusetts militia , and later units of the Massachusetts National Guard , opened in 1910. Electric trolley lines were built connecting Hudson with the towns of Leominster , Concord , and Marlborough, though these only remained in existence until

6976-405: The average family size was 3.11. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.0% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.6 males. The median income for a household in the town

7085-555: The brick mill building became known as Gleasondale Mills. On March 31, 1911, Phineas Feather—a former superintendent at Gleasondale Mills—attempted to murder mill owner Alfred Gleason with a pistol after confronting him about money he felt Gleason owed him. Another superintendent, Charles E. Roberts, disarmed Feather but was wounded in the struggle. A certain Robert J. Bevis and other individuals intervened further; Bevis and Feather were also wounded. No one died from their injuries, and after

7194-428: The conflict. The first recorded European settlement of the Hudson area occurred in 1698 or 1699 when settler John Barnes was granted 1 acre (0.40 ha) of Indian lands straddling both banks of the Assabet River . Barnes built a gristmill on the Assabet River's north bank on land that would one day be part of Hudson. In 1699 or 1700 Barnes sold his gristmill to Joseph Howe, who built a sawmill and bridge across

7303-524: The congregation worshiped at the Methodist church in Gleasondale (then known as Rock Bottom), until 1863. Sometime in the succeeding decades the congregation built an ornate wood-framed church on Main Street, which they lost in the 1911 fire. The current pastor is Chris Jones. Assabet River The indigenous people of this region first named the Assabet River, though the original meaning of

7412-401: The continued health and presence of native plants along the river. Trees native to the Assabet River area include red maple , silver maple , black willow , river birch , hemlock , and swamp white oak . They are joined by the native shrubs buttonbush , common elderberry , highbush blueberry , multiflora rose , smooth arrowwood , and sweet pepperbush . Wildflowers abound along

7521-610: The corner of Green and Central streets. In 1918, after some time of combined worship, the Congregational and Baptist churches decided to merge into one congregation—the First Federated Church—and worship at the Baptists' Church Street building. The Congregational church building became a community hall with bowling alleys until it was sold to a French Catholic congregation in 1927: this church would become Christ

7630-442: The dam and is renovating it to generate electricity again. None of the other historic mill dams presently provide hydropower. Despite its small watershed area and habitat loss to suburbanization , the Assabet River and greater Concord River basin host many native and naturalized species of trees, wildflowers, aquatic plants, birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, crustaceans, and insects. Introduced invasive plants threaten

7739-561: The downtown commercial district and industrial establishments. Further bad news came in 2013 when Intel, Hudson's largest employer and charitable donor, announced it would close its Hudson semiconductor factory and layoff 700 employees by 2014. Initially Intel tried to find a buyer for the facility, but when none came forward by 2015, Intel announced it would demolish the plant. However, Intel's campus in Hudson includes an 850-person microprocessor research and development facility that did not close, and remains operational as of 2020. Since

7848-560: The early 1970s as a prayer fellowship that met in the greater Boston area. In 1981 the parent Mar Thoma Syrian Church officially recognized this gathering as a congregation and part of its Diocese of North America and Europe. In 1984 the congregation registered as a legal entity in Massachusetts, with nine families becoming members. As of 2018 the congregation numbered 120 families residing throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut , New Hampshire , and Rhode Island . The current vicar

7957-588: The finest is the 1895 Colonel Adelbert Mossman House on Park Street, which is on the National Register of Historic Places . The town maintained five volunteer fire companies during the 1880s and 1890s, one of which manned the Eureka Hand Pump, a record-setting pump that could shoot a 1.5-inch (38 mm) stream of water 229 feet (70 m). Despite this glut of fire companies, on July 4, 1894, two boys playing with firecrackers started

8066-499: The first Spirit of Hudson Food and Brewfest to showcase local restaurants and breweries. Since then, the event has evolved into a large food and beer fest featuring dozens of restaurants and breweries, from tiny local producers to internationally known craft beer stalwarts such as Harpoon and Stone Brewing . The first microbrewery in Hudson, Medusa Brewing Company, opened downtown in 2015. A second—Ground Effect Brewing Company—followed in 2018. In 2022 Ground Effect changed hands with

8175-430: The first major floods after two flood control dams were built upstream. Both floods peaked at 8.1 feet (2.5 m) at the gauge. In Maynard the 1968 flood put water over the retaining wall next to the mill buildings, necessitating sandbagging and pumping to save factory equipment belonging to Digital Equipment Corporation , which owned the entire mill complex at the time. The equally high water of January 1979 did not reach

8284-451: The genus Sympetrum , common whitetail , the migratory green darner , and twelve-spotted skimmer . Aquatic insects plying the Assabet's waters include common water strider , giant water bugs of the genus Belostoma , grousewinged backswimmer and other species of backswimmers , various species of water boatmen , and whirligig beetles of genera Dineutus and Gyrinus . Water caltrop , more commonly known as water chestnut,

8393-492: The grass at Orchard Hill in Stow along the Assabet. The barn swallows feed over the water near Tyler Dam in Marlborough; some of them nest in the grass with the bobolinks while others live in a barn near Orchard Hill. A subset of birds living near or on the Assabet prefer marshy environments, including American bittern , black-crowned night heron , great blue heron , green heron , marsh wren , and red-winged blackbird . A variety of migratory and nonmigratory ducks habitate

8502-528: The land and mills—sold them to Timothy Gibson in 1770, who in turn sold them to Abraham Randall a few years later. For many years the area was known as Randall's Mills . In 1813 the Rock Bottom Cotton & Woolen Company built a wood-framed textile mill at Randall's Mills and the emerging village and new post office became known as Rock Bottom . In 1815 Randall sold the mill to Joel Cranston and Silas Felton, business partners based in Feltonville,

8611-513: The late 1920s. The factories in town continued to grow, attracting immigrants from England , Germany , Portugal , Lithuania , Poland , Greece , Albania , and Italy . By 1928 nineteen languages were spoken by the workers of the Firestone-Apsley Rubber Company . These immigrants usually lived in boarding houses near their places of employment. In 1926 Hudson industrialists Thomas Taylor and Frank Taylor donated

8720-569: The mid-2010s Hudson's commercial downtown has witnessed an economic revitalization, with previously empty storefronts finding tenants. This is partly thanks to the town's increasing role as a regional culinary destination, including for craft beer. Hudson's craft beer scene arguably began in 1980 when the Horseshoe Pub & Restaurant opened. In 2012, the Hudson Rotary Club , Horseshoe Pub, and other local businesses organized

8829-803: The mill because Digital had heightened the retaining wall. Walnut Street flooded: AT&T had to sandbag its building on the Walnut Street side. Three major and eight minor flood control sites hold back high water in times of floods. The George H. Nichols Dam was built in Westborough in 1968 or 1969, the Tyler Dam in Marlborough in 1965, and the Delaney Complex (on the Elizabeth Brook tributary) in Stow in 1971. The minor sites are on other tributary brooks. Collectively, these have

8938-473: The nascent town. This first library was a modest reading room in the Brigham Block building and contained 721 books. In 1873 the library moved to a room in the newly completed Hudson Town Hall. The current Hudson Public Library (HPL) building is a Carnegie library first built in 1905 using a $ 12,500 donation from Andrew Carnegie . It opened to the public on November 16, 1905. The original structure

9047-427: The oars, away! away! Thoreau reflected on the Assabet's natural sensory pleasures in his journal, contrasting them favorably against the heights of human endeavor and creation: July 10, 1852 Assabet River I wonder if any Roman emperor ever indulged in such luxury as this—of walking up and down a river in torrid weather with only a hat to shade the head. What were the baths of Caracalla to this? Now we traverse

9156-401: The opening of Clover Road Brewing Company, in the same location with the same head brewer, but new ownership. Although Hudson's population is now about 20,000, the town maintains the traditional town meeting form of government. Some light manufacturing and agricultural uses remain in the eastern end of town, a vestige of Hudson's dual agrarian and industrial history. However, today Hudson

9265-581: The poisonous water hemlock . Marsh plants habitating the area include various species of bur-reed (but predominantly Sparganium americanum ), cinnamon fern , common cattail , great bulrush , marsh fern , marsh mermaid weed , reed canary grass , royal fern , soft rush , tussock sedge , and wild rice . Native aquatic plants present on or under the Assabet's waters include common elodea , coontail , duckweed , low watermilfoil , various species of pondweeds , water celery , watermeal , watershield , white water lily , and yellow pond lily . Given

9374-407: The population. There were 6,990 households, out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.7% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. Of all households, 25.2% were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and

9483-583: The positions of chairman, vice-chairman, and clerk. The Massachusetts legislature abolished the Middlesex County government in 1997. Former county agencies and institutions reverted to the control of the state government of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Certain county government positions, such as District Attorney and Sheriff , still function under the state government instead of a county government. Hudson's local public school district

9592-443: The production of shoes and related products. At one point, the town had 17 shoe factories, many of them powered by the Assabet River , which runs through town. The many factories in Hudson attracted immigrants from Canada and Europe. Today most residents are of either Portuguese or Irish descent, with a smaller percentage being of French , Italian , English , or Scotch-Irish descent. While some manufacturing remains in Hudson,

9701-528: The reservoir. From Westborough the river flows northeast 34.4 miles (55.4 km), starting at an elevation of 320 feet (98 m) and descending through the towns of Northborough , Marlborough , Berlin , Hudson , Stow , Maynard , Acton , and finally Concord , where it merges with the Sudbury River at Egg Rock ( 42°27′55″N 71°21′30″W  /  42.4653°N 71.3584°W  / 42.4653; -71.3584  ( Junction with Sudbury River ) ) at an elevation of 100 feet (30 m) to form

9810-442: The river for food, dam construction, and den building. Licensed trappers are hired to remove nuisance beaver families. Where not intruding on human space, beavers improve the local ecology. Beaver dams create wetlands which foster wildlife diversity, contribute water to underlying aquifers, and combat summer droughts. The official designation of major flooding on the Assabet River is a water depth of more than 7 feet (2.1 m) and

9919-493: The river in his collection of short stories Mosses from an Old Manse : Rowing our boat against the current, between wide meadows, we turn aside into the Assabeth. A more lovely stream than this, for a mile above its junction with the Concord, has never flowed on earth, — nowhere, indeed, except to lave the interior of a poet's imagination. It is sheltered from the breeze by woods and a hillside; so that elsewhere there might be

10028-535: The river the Elizabeth or some variation thereof, but by 1856 maps consistently call it the Assabet. The name's history is further complicated by the fact that the tributary Elizabeth Brook in present-day Stow flows into the Assabet River. 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

10137-509: The river. The Powdermill Dam was constructed to power the American Powder Mills , a complex of 40 buildings situated on 400 acres (160 ha) along both sides of the river through the towns of Acton, Concord, Maynard, and Sudbury. The complex manufactured gunpowder between 1835 and 1940. Evidence of 23 recorded explosions during that period remains at a few locations along the river. Acton Hydro Company, Inc., currently owns

10246-506: The river. The little brown bat was once abundant in the area before decimation by the fungal disease white-nose syndrome ; other bat species remain present in large numbers. A few native reptile species inhabit the Assabet's waters. Some species—such as common snapping turtle , common watersnake , eastern garter snake , painted turtle , and ribbon snake —are relatively abundant. Other reptiles— Blanding's turtle and spotted turtle —are critically endangered, and though present along

10355-424: The settlement was known as Howe's Mills , Barnard's Mills , or The Mills , evidencing its early industrial history. From 1800 to 1828, the settlement was called New City , for reasons not entirely clear but perhaps related to increased population and industrialization. From 1828 until incorporation in 1866, the village was called Feltonville . The name Feltonville derives from that of Silas Felton, who operated

10464-419: The shores of Fort Meadow Reservoir. It is open to residents and non-residents for the cost of a daily or season pass, typically from June to August. Hudson is bordered by four towns and one city: Bolton and Stow on the north, the city of Marlborough on the south, Sudbury on the east, and Berlin on the west. The neighborhood and unincorporated village of Gleasondale straddles Hudson and Stow. As of

10573-606: The six-person Garcia family arrived. The 1890s saw the addition of the Bairos, Camara, Correia, and Luz families. In 1900 Mr. and Mrs. José "Joseph" Almada and Mrs. Almada's brother Manuel Silva settled in Hudson. By 1910 eleven more Portuguese families resided in Hudson: the Coito, Costa, Furtado, Grillo, Mello, Pereira, Pimentel, Rainha, Resendes, Ribeiro, and Sousa families. This initial group of Portuguese immigrants all hailed from

10682-467: The state. Locally, the flood damaged bridges and washed out roads. The 1955 floods occurred when remnants of Hurricane Diane reached New England. The Assabet River crested at 8.94 feet (2.72 m), the highest water level measured since record keeping began in 1942. According to a Maynard resident, "In August of 1955 my parents brought me to see water flowing over the bridge. We stood on the south side, on Waltham Street." The 1968 and 1979 floods were

10791-539: The surface-floating rosettes of leaves and nuts before the nuts mature and fall to the river bottom. Other invasive species in the Assabet basin include the aquatic plant European water clover and the fish carp . Alewife is an anadromous species of herring found in North America, meaning it mates and is born in freshwater but lives most of its life in saltwater. In pre-colonial and early colonial times, during their spring mating season alewife swam from

10900-504: The town is now primarily residential. Hudson is served by the Hudson Public Schools district. 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 Marlborough and the surrounding area. Nipmuc settlements along

11009-632: The word "Assabet" is uncertain. Assabet is said to come from the Algonquian word for "the place where materials for making fish nets comes from". Other cited Algonquian meanings include "at the miry place", "it is miry", or "the reedy place". It is also possible to decode the name Assabet in the Eastern Algonquian Loup language spoken by the Nipmuc people who lived and fished on the river prior to European settlement. The word assa-pe-t segments into: assa , "turn back"; pe ,

11118-432: Was $ 58,549, and the median income for a family was $ 70,145. Males had a median income of $ 45,504 versus $ 35,207 for females. The per capita income for the town was $ 26,679. About 2.7% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line , including 3.8% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over. As of 2017 Census Bureau estimates, Hudson's population increased to 19,994. The town's racial makeup

11227-455: Was 92.6% white, 1.3% Black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 2.7% Asian, and 2.5% from two or more races, with Hispanic or Latino people of any race making up 6.7% of the population. According to 2017 Census Bureau estimates, 90.3% of Hudson residents graduated high school or higher, while 39.8% have a bachelor's degree or higher. The Census Bureau estimated that in the five-year period between 2013 and 2017, 86.3% of Hudson households had

11336-463: Was a two-story Beaux-Arts design typical of Carnegie libraries and other American public buildings of the early twentieth century. Despite numerous additions over time the Carnegie building is mostly intact, including its original front entrance and handsome main stair. The town added a third story to the building in 1932 for a total cost of $ 15,000 (~$ 272,924 in 2023). Today the third floor serves as

11445-559: Was completed in 1912 or 1913 after the previous one, which was located across the street from the Unitarian Church in central Hudson, burned in a 1911 fire. The congregation traces its origins back to early settler Phineas Sawyer, who converted to Methodism in 1789 and opened his home to Methodist meetings in 1800. In 1828 Feltonville's Methodists built a brick meetinghouse on Gospel Hill in what would become eastern Hudson. This structure burned on December 28, 1852, after which

11554-583: Was estimated more than 10,000 beaver pelts were being taken annually in land that now makes up Massachusetts and Connecticut . Due to aggressive hunting, European settlers extirpated beaver from Massachusetts by 1750. Reintroduction to the state started in the Berkshires around 1930, then spread east. Beavers once again populate the Assabet River watershed: they are numerous enough that stream culverts under roads need to be periodically cleared of in-progress beaver dams, and beavers down trees on land adjacent to

11663-465: Was located on Church Street behind the Unitarian Church, where the Hudson Boys and Girls Club stands today. A rapidly growing congregation necessitated a larger church built on the same site in 1877. The Congregational side of the church traces its origins to at least 1889, when Congregationalists from Hudson held meetings in downtown's Chase Block building. In 1902 they built their own church at

11772-601: Was refused burial rites by area Greek Orthodox priests. The Portuguese Roman Catholics in Hudson hold annual feasts or festivals honoring and celebrating the Holy Ghost and Our Lady of Fátima , known in Portuguese as Festas do Espírito Santo and Festa da Nossa Senhora de Fátima , respectively. There are three related but distinct festas in Hudson: the Império Mariense, the lmpério Micaelense, and

11881-462: Was replaced in 1928 and again in 2013. The Great Flood of 1936 was described as the worst flood in New England since 1850. Damage in Massachusetts was estimated in excess of $ 200 million at the time. The severe winter of 1935-36 had deep snowfalls and long cold snaps that iced streams and rivers solid. Spring came early, with mild weather and heavy rain. By mid-March, rivers were rising across

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