Pre-European and colonial 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. In 1650, the area that would become Hudson and
Marlborough was part of the Ockookangansett Indian Plantation for the
Praying Indians. During
King Philip's War, English settlers forcibly evicted the Indians from their plantation, imprisoning and killing many of them; most survivors did not return after the conflict. Barnes built a
gristmill on the Assabet River's north bank on land that would one day be part of Hudson. In June 1743, area residents Samuel Witt, John Hapgood, and others petitioned to break away from Marlborough and become a separate town, claiming the journey to attend Marlborough's town meeting was "vastly fatiguing." 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 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 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 stream of water . Electric
trolley lines were built connecting Hudson with the towns of
Leominster,
Concord, and Marlborough, though these only remained in existence until the late 1920s. It has outlived Hudson's other ethnic clubs, including the Buonovia Club (
Italian American), the Lithuanian Citizens' Club, a
Polish American club, and other Portuguese American clubs. Under Intel's ownership, the plant continued producing
silicon chips and
wafers.
21st century At the height of the
Great Recession in the late 2000s, Hudson lost many local businesses. Particularly affected were 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. 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 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. In 2022 Ground Effect changed hands with 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. From 1700 to 1800, 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 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. ==Geography==