As written by Wilbur F. Brigham (1839-1901) Compiled and Edited by Katherine Johnson and Lewis Halprin Presented by the Hudson MA Historical Society and Museum Forward -------------------------- 2 Who was Wilbur F. Brigham ---------- 3 Obituary for Wilbur F. Brigham -------5 Brigham’s Landmarks & History Articles- 6 Table of Contents ------------------ 7 Landmarks (entries i thru ix) --------- 22 History of Hudson (parts 1-127) ------42 Index ----------------------------357 1853 Map of Hudson ----------------373 The story of its people. People make the community, people make history, not buildings, not dates. Forward This History of Hudson, MA, is a compilation of newspaper articles written by Wilbur F. Brigham to inform his fellow townspeople of the events and the people who had formed his new town of Hudson. He was born in Feltonville in this northern section of Marlboro, on April 9, 1839. As a young man he learned shoemaking by hand in the early shops, attended town affairs, and promoted the formation of a new town of Hudson in 1866. He loved his town, knew all its people, and wanted all to know its heritage. The first nine articles called “Hudson Landmarks” were written 1883 to 1884 when he was about forty years old and all was fresh in his mind. The elder citizens could tell him stories from the 1700’s, about the people and their everyday lives so this book may not be a true “History Book” of all dates and facts in chronological order. These articles by Wilbur F. Brigham depict the attitudes, opinions, experiences of a prominent business man who was educated in one room schoolhouses, played on the streets, shopped locally, and employed many of the men in town. They were published in the “Enterprise”, the weekly newspaper of Hudson, MA. Which was inaugurated and first published in April 1883! Some foresighted soul cut out the articles faithfully and saved them in a scrapbook where they eventually made their way to the shelves of the Hudson Historical Society’s museum and were relegated to a back shelf to sit unattended for years. We, as editors, have brought these 136 stories “into the light” from their dark slumber on these museum’s shelves The town of Hudson, Massachusetts was incorporated on March 19, 1866. The inhabitants came to live here in the late 1600’s but were citizens of Marlboro, MA. The community formed along the Assabet River was called “Cow Commons”, “The Mills”, “New City”, and eventually “Feltonville”. Its early history is found only in Charles Hudson’s volume “The History of Marlboro” printed in 1863. In 1860, Charles Hudson writes, “It is our duty to transmit these records of the past to the generations which shall come after us. The deeds of our ancestors must not be permitted to sleep in darkness and in death.” The editors of this history book are Katherine Johnson and Lewis Halprin. Together they published several books in the Images of America series by Arcadia Publishing Company titled “Images of Hudson” and “Postcards of Hudson”. Katherine Johnson has been on the staff of the Hudson Historical Society Museum for twenty years and has been its Historian for the past 10 years. Lewis Halprin is co-editor of nine Arcadia Publishing “Images of America” books about towns in the Hudson area, including the towns of Stow, Maynard, Lake Boon and Hudson. 2 Who Was Wilbur F. Brigham Wilbur F. Brigham was born in Hudson, Massachusetts on April 9, 1839. The first of his family in America was John Brigham, born in England. He died in 1728 at age 84. Sarah, the mother of his children died 1698. A second wife, Deborah, died in 1716. John Brigham had a sawmill in Northborough, a part of Marlboro. His grandson Solomon, born May 25, 1723 died on Feb 1, 1807. Solomon’s son Ivory Brigham married Sally Wilkins on Feb 19, 1800. Ivory was born April 20, 1765 and died June 4, 1853 at age 88. One of his seven children was Francis, born April 12, 1813. Francis married Sophia Gleason on January 5, 1835. Wilbur F. Brigham was son of Francis and Sophia (Gleason) Brigham. He and his twin William F. Brigham were born April 9, 1839. His siblings were Rufus A. Brigham, Waldo B. Brigham and Laura S. Brigham. Sophia died at age 31, leaving 5 children and Francis Brigham married Emily Houghton. They had a daughter Ida. His third wife was Persis Gleason Watkins. Mrs. Emily Brigham Capt. Francis Brigham 3 Rufus Brigham William Brigham Waldo Brigham Wilbur Brigham 4 Obituary of Wilbur F. Brigham 1839-1901 Written by Mildred Brigham, a daughter of William H. Brigham William F. and Wilbur F. Brigham were born in Feltonville, April 9th 1839 twin sons of Francis and Sophia Brigham. They attended the public schools of the town and at the age of fifteen entered Monson Academy. William later went to Tufts College where he had a fine record as a student. He enlisted in the Civil War, went into service in Co. 9, 36th regiment, and became Captain. He died Feb 6th 1865 at Annapolis of malaria. Wilbur went into work for his father and later was made a member of the shoe firm of F. Brigham & Co. He was very anxious to serve his country in the civil war but the impaired sight of one eye barred him from the service. When the call came for men for 100-day service he was allowed to enlist and go out with Co. 9, 5th Regiment. On returning home, he involved himself in the life and affairs of the town, was prominently active in the temperance cause and the old time Lyceum. He was very quick in thought and strong in argument, took an active part in our Town Meetings, stood firm for what he thought right and for the best interests of the Town. He was interested in Chautauqua and was President of the South Framingham circle. In 1875 he was a member of the State Legislature where he served on the Committee of Labor. He always took an active part in debate on the floor of the House. It is said that his eloquent speech on Woman’s Suffrage was published in full in the Woman’s Journal. He commenced a history of Hudson that was printed in the Enterprise bi-weekly. This material furnished some important facts, many of which could not have been gleaned from any other source, as he was in possession of much data. He was a regular attendant of the Baptist Church and interested in all of its work, kind and helpful to the poor and needy. Many Civil War widows have received pensions through his efforts and his many trips to Washington. His literary tastes caused him to take a keen interest in the schools of the town, and he offered prizes for speaking contests. On Nov 13, 1901, he suffered a stroke while on the train from Boston, was taken to his home, and died the same evening. In his will he left the Town of Hudson seven hundred dollars, the income to be used under the direction of the school committee for prize speaking contests. He was rather eccentric but an honest upright citizen standing firm for the principles he thought right. Francis and Sophia (Gleason) Brigham’s sons were Rufus A. Brigham, William F. Brigham, Wilbur F. Brigham, Waldo B. Brigham and daughter Laura S. Brigham. 5 Brigham’s Landmarks and History Articles These 127 articles, followed by the six titled “Recollections” were published in the “Enterprise”, the weekly newspaper of Hudson, MA. starting in 1883 through April 1901. In 1893, Mr. Wilbur F. Brigham, one of Hudson’s best-known historians wrote a letter to The Enterprise suggesting that a series of articles on early Hudson History be written and if the paper would publish them, he would be happy to do so. As a result, 120 articles were written and published from 1893 to 1898. They cover the whole history of the Town from its earliest beginnings when a committee of 13 petitioned the General Court to be separate from the Town of Marlborough. These articles have never to our knowledge been collected and published as a series, yet they contain some of the most valuable history of the life and growth of Hudson available. This task of compiling them and indexing them has been undertaken by Lewis Halprin and Katherine Johnson, Historian of the Hudson Historical Society Museum. The articles have been on file at the Museum but forgotten until a new collection, aged and brown, carefully cut and folded over 100 years ago placed in a candy box and were found on the top shelf of a closet in Marlboro. This became a treasure of information. It has brought the history of Hudson alive. You can imagine walking the streets, seeing the buildings from the sketches included, and enjoying knowing your neighbors before the trolleys, trains, and autos took people afar. These articles have been used by Hudson High School in the History classes and in English classes for teaching journalism. The newspaper articles were printed in columns but were entered into a full book page format by students in computer classes at Hudson High School. The content of these chapters is copied exactly as written by Wilbur Brigham in his weekly columns of the Hudson Enterprise newspaper. When he quotes a legal document, a deed, or a will, he uses the exact words and spelling. Some phrases seem awkward with strange words due to the British way or lack of schooling. Remember, this is 1890 when few people even completed their High School diploma.