A trolley line through Hudson via Ferry Street was opened to the public in 1902.  At the end of Ferry Street the line went through the woods behind Westview Cemetery, making a sharp turn right and crossing Central Street near Burger King and onto the  Benson’s Property towards Bush Hill Road and behind the Haselton Barn, and then on to Pelham and Canobie Park  in Salem.  This line was popular because of the Canobie Lake Park destination; it was also the most dangerous because of the sharp turns and hilly terrain coupled with the desire to maintain speed.

Our photo for this week shows a lumberyard in the field behind the Haselton Barn on Bush Hill Road.  Planks of sawed lumber have been stacked for drying before distribution or use.  Evident are the tracks from the wagons used to transport to and from the saw mill.  Although the tracks for the trolley line are not visible, we get a sense of where they were from the electric lines behind the barn and near the lumber piles.  On the rear of the barn is a sign “Haselton”.  Why place a sign on the  back side of a barn?  For the benefit of those traveling on the electric trolley.

This undated photo is from the collection at the Historical Society; but, my estimate is circa 1905.  The trolley line is present and the cupola is on the barn.  The donor indicated the lumberyard was operated by George Washington Haselton and his brother-in-law Clifton Buttrick.  Buttrick was another prominent Hudson Center farmer living on Windham Road.  He married Marietta Haselton about 1869.  Unfortunately she passed in 1873 before her husband and brother were in the lumber business together.