HUDSON / HUDSON CITY
Located three miles west of Appleton City, in Bates County, Missouri
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It All Started With A Tornado, Wilbur A. Zink:
Hudson was located about three miles west of Appleton City. It was first called
Hudson City, but the name “City” was later dropped. Rev. Israel Robards, who was
a Missionary Baptist preacher from New York, settled the land. He came to the
area in the spring of 1843 and built a two-room log cabin. In 1867, Rev.
Robards’ son, Judge Charles I. Robards, purchased 120 acres of land to develop
the city of Hudson. Twenty-one other men had paid $100 each for a share in the
new city, and 35 blocks and streets were laid out and named. The land was
surveyed and recorded at the county seat of Bates County, which was Butler, Mo.
The date was May 10, 1867. Judge Robards built the first home. Sixty homes and
businesses were built within three years, and it became a thriving community.
The first postmaster was Joel Pratt.
The stagecoach stopped three times a week. Railroad tracks were built three
miles east of Appleton City. There was a mass move from Hudson City to Appleton
City in the year 1871. Oxen moved 25 residences, two business buildings, and one
church to the new city of Appleton City. The church was the Hudson Presbyterian
Church, which was cut in half so it could be moved into Appleton City. The first
half was pulled across the prairie by oxen into Appleton City. The second half
was loaded and taken to the edge of Panther Creek, just east of Hudson, for the
night. They had planned to haul it into Appleton City the next day, but during
the night it burned.
There are still a few houses in Hudson, including the community building which
was formerly Brown’s Chapel. There are still houses in Appleton City that were
among those moved from Hudson. C.F. Younger, a relative of the famous Younger
Brotheres, lived in a home on 4th Street & Beech in one of the houses that were
moved.
Hudson is still recognized as a community, and those living in this eastern
Bates County village and school district have their own grade school, known as
Hudson School, which is part of Bates County R-9 School District. After being
settled for over 200 years, the Hudson community and area is still a good
farming area. In early years there were several cases of horse thieves, and the
Hudson Vigilantes were formed in an effort to catch them.