03/14/2026
HISTORY OF THE START OF THE HISTORICAL ROOM
This is a highlight of the Hudson Library Historical Association start and the Historical Room.
The Historical Room was originally started after the fire that took the Hudson School in 2007. In 2008, after the library had been moved into the building next to the post office, the top floor had a large number of old newspapers on the upper floor. With the thought of using the top floor for housing the many class pictures from the Hudson School, as well as other items, we had to go through a number of old newspapers that were stored there. The newspaper duplicates were discarded, and the rest were stored.
In the beginning the majority of the items on display were from the school. We had class pictures, cheerleading outfits, football jerseys and much more. Also, we had items that were saved from the school, like the trophy case and trophies, and many music plaques. As time went on, we added many more items such as old annuals, and many items from the Hudson area.
We were officially started in 2009. At that time, we asked for volunteers to join us in preserving the Hudson History. Through the years we have had only a handful of volunteers. We have always had a lot of support when we had a fundraiser for something needed in the Historical Room, but with our small group we were able to accomplish a lot.
One of our first projects was replacing the windows in the front of the Historical Room and adding covering. We needed to protect the many pictures that were hung on the walls. We started with curtains and later added blinds.
Through the years we have raised money to add a furnace and air conditioner to the top floor, which was separate from the library below. We raised money for track lights, as lighting wasn’t the best, helped with roof repair, and added a sign to the outside of the building to show where we were located. We purchased additional display cases, as well as receiving some donations of display cases.
But we didn’t just do projects for the Historical Room. We broadened our projects. We were able to restore the old school bell and add a memorial located by the Hudson Community Center. We also were able to restore the Boy Scout Cabin, and it is now listed as the Hudson Historical Boy Scout Cabin. We also were able to get signs posted on the west, east, and north sides of Hudson, as well as in front of the Boy Scout Cabin, showing the Historical designation. The sign also shows that the first paid woman baseball umpire, Amanda Clement, came from Hudson.
We were able to send off annuals from 1950 to 1985 and have them digitally put on a DVD. We were also instrumental in getting the microfilm reader and film reels for the library.
Our latest big project was raising money for the chair lifts to make it easier for people to get to the upper floor of the library. Before we could barely use them, we were hit with the storm that damaged the building. They needed to be removed. We were happy to donate them to the Hudson Legion for the Memorial Building.
That brings us to the present. We are now helping to raise money for the new library/Historical Room building, which will be built in the same area as the old library building and to the empty lot to the east. This will be a building that is one level, which will make it easier for everyone to use the Historical Room. We look forward to the time we will be open to the public again.
We currently have a committee that is looking at plans and working on designing the building. The committee is taking into account where it is located and how it fits into the buildings surrounding us.
If you are able, we would definitely appreciate anything you can donate. Donations can be given or sent to the Hudson Premier Bank or to the Hudson city office. The bank address is PO Box 447 Hudson, SD 57034 and the city office is PO Box 462 Hudson, SD 57034.
