The Hudson Town Forest

The town forest in Hudson was established in 1930 on 172 acres of land. The town was fortunate in having received valuable gifts of land which were used for the town forest, in addition to land purchased by the town. Part of the town forest was set aside from the town poor farm. (Town poor farms were a widely practiced means of welfare throughout New England until the end of the 19th century. Responsibility for welfare then shifted from towns to county or state governments, providing the opportunity for communities to retain ownership of town farm woodlots and convert them to town forest). An additional 375 acres were acquired at a later time.

Over 102,000 trees were planted in the forest.