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 vicinity 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 settlement was known as Willow River up until 1848, when the name was changed to Buena Vista. Early settler, Joel Foster stated that this name was appropriate since the area did, indeed, have a "beautiful view."


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