Hudson, Wisconsin, United States

🇺🇸 Hudson is a city in St. Croix County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Minneapolis–St. Paul Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village of North Hudson is directly to the north of Hudson.

History Hudson was settled in 1840 by Louis Massey and his brother in-law, Peter Bouchea. William Streets arrived at about the same time. Later that year, Joseph Sauperson (commonly known as Joe LaGrue) took up residence. These four are considered Hudson's original inhabitants. Massey and Bouchea settled at the mouth of the Willow River, near the present-day First and St. Croix Streets. They had been part of a group that lived for some time along the river below Fort Snelling, which appears on some old maps as "Massey's Landing".

Hudson was originally called Willow River. It was later named Buena Vista by Judge Joel Foster, founder of River Falls, after returning from the Mexican War where he fought in the Battle of Buena Vista. In 1852, Alfred D. Gray, Hudson's first mayor, petitioned to change the city's name to Hudson, because the bluffs along the St. Croix River reminded him of the Hudson River in his native New York.

A large number of settlers arrived in the 1850s and 1860s, many of whom were ancestors of today's residents. The lumber industry was the area's prime attraction, and over time sawmills were established throughout the St. Croix Valley.

The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway was formed in 1881 from other railroads building between the Twin Cities and Chicago. The shops and headquarters of the Omaha Road were in Hudson. This route is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad.

On August 30, 1917, a violent mob of 1,000 held a night rally in front of the armory protesting the pacifist People's Council of America's attempt to hold a conference in Hudson's prizefighting arena. The crowd then moved on the four organizers in the lobby of their hotel and threatened to hang them. Only after the pleadings of county attorney N. O. Varnum were the four allowed to leave town at once and unharmed.

U.S. Highway 12 once crossed the St. Croix River on a toll bridge between Wisconsin and Minnesota, which provided revenue for the town. With the construction of Interstate 94, the toll bridge was removed, though the long causeway extending to the former bridge location is now open to the public as a pedestrian walkway, known as "The Dike".

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 7.41 square miles (19.19 km²), of which 6.53 square miles (16.91 km²) is land and 0.88 square miles (2.28 km²) is water.

Interstate Highway 94, U.S. Route 12 and Wisconsin Highway 35 are three of the main routes in the community.

Economy Hudson has grown as a tourist destination and restaurants on the St. Croix in its historic downtown, along with hotels and other businesses that serve traffic on Interstate Highway 94.

The former greyhound racing track, St. Croix Meadows, is being redeveloped to include a hotel, dining, commercial office space, residential condos, a baseball field, an 18-hole mini golf course, and an indoor sports complex with two hockey rinks and a soccer arena.

Two made-for-TV movies were filmed in the city in 2021.

Arts and culture Hudson is home of the Phipps Center for the Arts, a regional performing arts center. It is the headquarters of Little Free Libraries and was the site of the first Little Free Library.

Public safety Hudson is served by the Hudson Police Department, the Hudson Fire Department, and Lakeview EMS. These agencies respond to about 400 fire calls, 2000 EMS and rescue calls, and 5000 police calls annually.

Transport Hudson has no public airports, though residents have access to the New Richmond Regional Airport and the St. Paul Downtown Airport for general aviation, and the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) for commercial and international flights. There is an airport shuttle from Hudson to MSP.

Education Hudson is served by the Hudson School District. Public schools in the city include E. P. Rock Elementary School, Hudson Prairie Elementary School, North Hudson Elementary School, Willow River Elementary School, Houlton Elementary School, River Crest Elementary School, Hudson Middle School, and Hudson High School.

St Patrick's School, a Catholic parochial school, is also in Hudson. The Trinity Academy of Hudson, a Lutheran private school, offers preschool through eighth grade.

In 2010, the University of Wisconsin–River Falls opened a satellite campus in Hudson with a focus on undergraduate and graduate degrees for adult students.