Hudson is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, USA. The population was 22,928 at the 2000 census.

History

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Hudson began as part of the Dunstable Land Grant that encompassed the current city of Nashua, New Hampshire, as well as Dunstable and Pepperell, Massachusetts. When New Hampshire became its own colony, the New Hampshire portion became Dunstable, New Hampshire. This section was eventually subdivided into 3 towns: Nashville (west of the Merrimack River and north of the Nashua River), Nashua (west of the Merrimack River and south of the Nashua River) and Nottingham (east of the Merrimack River). Nashville and Nashua would later merge to form the city of Nashua.

Several years after adopting the name Nottingham, it was discovered that there was already a town named Nottingham further east. As a compromise, the town renamed itself "Nottingham West", a name it would keep for the better part of a century. The name was eventually changed to "Hudson" to avoid confusion with the older town of Nottingham. The name apparently comes from an early belief that the Merrimack River had once been thought to be a tributary of the Hudson River, or that the area had once been explored by Henry Hudson; both proved to be entirely apocryphal stories, but the name of the town remains today.

A prominent family in Hudson history was the Alfred and Virginia Hills family, who owned a large tract of land north of Hudson Village. The Hills House on Derry Street is their original family home and current location of the Town Historical Society. The grounds host the annual "Old Home Days" fair every year. Hills Memorial Library is one of the oldest public lending libraries in the state, and occupies a stone and mortar building on Library Street. Alvirne High School and the Alvirne Chapel, located on family land across Derry Street from the Hills House, were donated to the town. (Alvirne is a contraction of Alfred and Virginia). The Hills' only son had died during a football game; out of respect, Alvirne High went many decades without a football team, despite being one of the largest high schools in the state. It was assumed that such a stipulation had been put as a condition of the high ss charter. When it was learned that no such condition had ever been recorded, financial pressures encouraged the formation of a football team. In fall of 1994, Alvirne High School fielded its first JV football team, with varsity play beginning in 1996. Alvirne High is home to one of the largest agricultural-vocational programs in the area, the Wilbur H. Palmer Agricultural and Vocational School. This school features several student-run businesses including a bank, restaurant, store, day care, dairy farm, and forestry program.

Geography

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According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 75.3 km² (29.1 mi²). 73.2 km² (28.3 mi²) of it is land and 2.1 km² (0.8 mi²) of it is water, comprising 2.82% of the town....