Hudson, Wisconsin

Hudson is a city in St. Croix County, Wisconsin, United States. As of 2008, the city had an estimated population of 11,865 [http://www.doa.state.wi.us/docview.asp?locid=9&docid=7268] . Hudson has experienced considerable growth in recent years due to its proximity to the Twin Cities. Hudson has been considered part of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area since 2000. The village of North Hudson is located directly to the north of Hudson.

Geography

Hudson is located at coor dms|44|58|19|N|92|44|41|W|city (44.972017, -92.744977)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.3 square miles (16.2 km²), of which, 5.4 square miles (14.0 km²) of it is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km²) of it (13.88%) is water.

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

History

Hudson was founded in the summer of 1840 by Louis Massey and Peter Bouchea. Massey and Bouchea settled at the mouth of the Willow River, now the place where of First and St. Croix Streets. The 1840s saw a few settlers making their appearance here -- Captain John Page, the Nobles brothers, Dr. Philip Aldrich, Ammah Andrews, Moses Perrin, Colonel James Hughes, Daniel Anderson, and others.

The 1850s and 1860s saw a great influx of settlers, and many of today's Hudson citizens are descendants of these early pioneers. The main attraction of this area at the time was the first lumber industry, and as time went on, the entire St. Croix Valley was dotted with sawmills of varying importance.

In 1852, A.D. Gray, Hudson's first mayor, petitioned to change the name of the city to "Hudson", because the St. Croix reminded him of New York’s Hudson River.

U.S. Highway 12 once crossed the St. Croix River on a toll bridge from Minnesota to Wisconsin, which provided revenue for the town. With the construction of Interstate 94, the toll bridge has been removed.

Hudson has grown as a tourist destination in recent years with many unique shops and restaurants (Barker's) downtown. Hudson also has many hotels, gas stations and other businesses that serve traffic on Interstate Highway 94.

Hudson was home to a greyhound racing track, S

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 8,775 people, 3,687 households, and 2,271 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,624.5 people per square mile (627.4/km²). There were 3,831 housing units at an average density of 709.2/sq mi (273.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.87% White, 0.22% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 0.22% from other races, and 0.98% from two or more races. 1.04% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.There were 3,687 households out of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.5% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 34.8% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $50,991, and the median income for a family was $63,953. Males had a median income of $42,108 versus $31,268 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,921. About 1.7% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

* [http://www.ci.hudson.wi.us/ City of Hudson, WI -- Official website]
* [http://www.hudsonwi.org/ Hudson Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau site]