Revisit Hudson Schools…Hudson Center School Circa 1909
Hudson Center School circa 1909
Also known as the school on Kimball Hill Road. I attended this two-room school house for five years. Grades 1-3 with Mrs. Marguarite Gilman and grades 4 and 5 with Miss Florence Parker. After that the 6th grade at Webster then off to Alvirne!!
After the D.O. Smith School on Windham Road was destroyed by fire, the school district voted to build a new school of similar size. The sum of $900 plus the amount received from insurance was allocated for this purpose. A conscious decision was made to not re-build on the Windham Road location. The Hudson Center School, a two room house, was built on the east side of Pelham Road (now Kimball Hill Road) just a short distance from Hudson Center. This school remained in use until 1956 when it was closed. The students were combined with the classes at Webster School. Of the two teachers: Florence Parker became a reading supervisor and Mrs. Marguerite Gilman taught a second grade. This building remains today and is privately owned. Photo from Historical Society Collection.
The Mill and Home At Eayers Pond
Old Mill at Eayrs Pond
It is not possible to determine where or at what time the early mills were established in Hudson. From early maps, deeds, and family history we do know that Edward Foster Eayrs operated a mill on Eayrs Pond near the intersection of River and Chalifoux Roads as early 1877. Edward maintained the dam on Eayrs brook to control the water level of the pond and to generate sufficient power for the mill. After his death in 1913 members of his family operated the mill for a while.
Edward Foster Eayrs was born March 1840 in Nashua, a son to John and Lucy (Hartwell) Eayrs. The history of the Hartwell family can be traced to the early 1700’s of NH and MA. Likewise the Eayrs (also spelled Ayers) has a history into the 1600’s. The Eayrs family, John and his brother James, operated a mill in northern Nashua, likely along the Pennichuck brook. Census records credit John as owning a ‘drug mill’ in Nashua; a name which has a different connotation from today. This mill was used to grind herbs and roots which were then used for medicine. Some of these were used by relatives in Lowell for Ayers Sasprillia and other medicines.
Edward worked as a ‘drug grinder’ until his father passed in 1861; after which he worked with his Uncle James. In September 1864 Edward enlisted in the Union Army, serving in Company F, New Hampshire 1st Heavy Artillery. He was mustered out on 15 June 1865 at Washington, DC. Returning to New Hampshire he returned work with his uncle in the mill and later later became a partner. After his uncle passed Edward moved the mill machinery to Hudson, between 1877 and 1880, and began operating the mill at Eayrs Pond.
By 1860 there was a coronet band of about 20 young men under the direction of Edwin T. Baldwin of Manchester and later of Nashua. The Republican Party hired his band during the 1860 presidential campaign for Abraham Lincoln. After the war broke out most members of this band enlisted for four months as musicians in the First NH Regiment. The name of this band was changed to the Nashua Coronet Band. At some point Edward Foster was a member of this band as he was chosen as their president in 1877.
The farm of James Cutter and Abigail (Putnam) Ford were neighbors to the mill at Eayrs pond; living west of River Road on Ford Road (now Chalifoux Road), Their daughter Charlotte Augusta (born June 1857) married Edward Foster Eayers and they built a home on the east side of the pond on River road. Their family consisted of four girls: Ida (born 1884), Lucy (born 1886), Cora Belle (born 1889), and Nellie (born 1890). Of these four daughters we will continue with the line through Cora Belle.
Eayers Homestead on River Road
At the age of 20, Cora Belle Eayrs married Walter F. Ducharme of Lowell in July 1909. They had one son, Walter Frederick, born April 1910. This was a short marriage which ended in divorce. In February 1919 Cora Belle married Orin Moody from Rhode Island. The Eayrs home on River Road became the childhood home of Walter Frederick, his mother Cora Belle, and his step-father Orin Moody. Orin worked at the mill until it was sold. The homestead was sold by Moody in April 1939 after living there more than 20 years.
To bring the descendants of Edward Foster Eayrs and Augusta Charlotte Ford up to the present time we find that Walter Frederick Ducharme married Eva Veronica Frenette, a native of Quebec Canada, on November 1927. Their family consisted of Lena, Walter (Sonny), Richard (who died while serving in the Korean War), Doris, H. Eugene, Sylvia, and Joan.
Getting back to the mill and Eayrs homestead. The Eayrs homestead located east of the pond on River Road remains today remodeled into three apartments. The photo of the Eayers Homestead if from the Historical Society collection complements of the Ducharme family.
2 Stone Mill Drive 2018
The mill building at Eayrs Pond likely dates to about 1767. After operation by members of the Eayrs family there have been a number of owners. In August 1969 the mill and surrounding 4 plus acres was purchased by Nashua Optometrist Louis P. Guertin and his wife Shirley. During their ownership the State of NH claimed the pond as it exceeded 10 acres. Since then the state has regulated the dam to control water level of the pond. After Dr. Guertin passed Shirley subdivided the parcel into two lots on Stone Mill Drive. The old grist/saw mill is now a residence at 2 Stone Mill Drive. The early photo of the mill is also from the Historical Society collection complements of the Ducharme family. The current photo of 2 Stone Mill drive is from the town records.
Revisit Schools . D.O. Smith School on Windham Road
D.O. Smith School built 1896
In 1896 Hudson residents voted to erect two new school houses. This vote began the movement to a centralized school system; departing from the the district school system. The Smith School shown here was erected for the convenience of families in/near Hudson Center.
The Smith School house was erected in Hudson Center on what is now Windham Road. The building committee was authorized to spend up to $3,000 to build and equip this school; which was named in honor of Dr. David O. Smith. In his younger years David O. was a successful teacher, he then studied medicine and became a very skillful physician. After becoming a doctor he retained his interest in the schools of this town, doing more for our schools than any other person during his long lifetime. This school house was completely destroyed by fire and was replaced by the Hudson Center School on Kimball Hill Road in 1909. The Smith School was located on the north side of the road at or near the present address of 42 to 44 Windham Road. This picture is from an old sepia photograph from the Historical Society collection.
The Creamery at 26 Highland Street
Creamery Building at 26 Highland C1975
Located on Highland Street the Merrimack Valley Co-operative Creamery existed from about September 1891 until September 1898. The co-op was started by members of the Hills family and other residents of Hudson and Nashua; most of whom had roots to homesteads along what is now Derry and Old Derry Roads. Some of the folks in Hudson know of the creamery’s existence but do not know the details. Today we will look into the story behind the creamery and the connection with the families of Alfred K. Hills, Justin E. Hill, and Charles E. Spalding.
Alfred K. Hills and his first cousin Justin E. Hill were natives of Hudson. Alfred was born in 1840 to Alden and Nancy (Kimball) Hills; he grew up on his ancestral farm which is now the Alvirne High School farm. Justin was born in 1844 to Warren and Mary (Chase) Hill; he grew up on his family’s farm located on what is now Old Derry Road. After the 1860’s Justin was a business man living in Nashua. It is noted that Warren had his name changed from Hills to Hill by act of NH Legislature in July 1846. Alfred married Martha Simmons and attended Harvard Medical school, after which he established a medical practice in New York. By 1887 Martha had passed and he was married a second time to Ida Virginia Creutzborg. Dr. Hills had a strong bond with his home town; a feeling his wife Ida Virginia soon shared. By 1890 they purchased the family homestead and built a summer home, which they called Alvirne, on the premise. In addition to his medical practice in New York he retained an interest in the family farm in Hudson; hiring a farm manager to oversee it’s operation.
Charles W. Spalding was born in Hudson to Willard and Sally (Marsh) in 1835; he grew up on his family’s farm located on the west side of Derry Road near Grand Avenue near the location of the present Continental Academia of Hair Design.
Between 1878 and 1886 there were three significant inventions in the dairy industry. The first of these was the continuous centrifugal cream separator invented in 1878. This machine was used to separate the cream from the whole milk; leaving cream for commercial use to make butter. This process left skimmed milk as a by-product. In the early years skimmed milk was not popular for human consumption and it was used as a supplement for growing and fattening pigs. The second invention occurred in 1884 with the invention of the milk bottle; the third occurred 2 years later when the automatic bottle filler and caper was patented. Together these three inventions would aid the formation of a co-op creamery.
By September of 1891 the Merrimack Valley Co-operative Creamery Association of Hudson was established and they had purchased land on Barrett Hill Road (now Highland Street) from Nellie and James Cummings of Nashua for $300. At the annual meeting of the co-op in September 1892 the outlook was encouraging and the creamery was ready for farmers to bring in their cream for processing. This established the build date of the 26 Highland Street property as 1982.
In September 1893 minutes of the next annual meeting of the creamery were reported in the Nashua Daily Telegraph. From these we learn of the success and challenges of the corporation. After being in business for two years they were beginning to see signs of progress. Local farmers were coming on board as patrons and the creamery was able to make butter on a paying basis and to the satisfaction of the consumer and with good profits for the creamery and the local farmers. They were confident of an increase in the supply of cream as more farmers wold come on board as patrons. Production of the creamery had increased and the board of directors was confident of continued growth. On the other hand there was concern that the dairy farmers were not supporting the co-operative as they should. Perhaps they lacked confidence in the organization. At this annual meeting we find the following local individuals as corporate officers: Justin E. Hill, President; Dr. Alfred k. Hills, Vice-President, Walter B. Chase, Secretary; Charles B. Spalding, Treasurer; Daniel Boyd, Auditor. The Board of Directors was Justin E. Hill, Alfred K. Hills, Walter B. Chase, Charles W. Spalding, Hon. W.N. Beasom, H.G. Bixby and Daniel Boyd.
Within a few years, by September 1897, at a meeting requested by a number of stockholders, it was clear that the creamery was having difficulty sustaining itself. The call to the meeting included a request to consider the advisability of selling and disposing of the property of the association and winding up its affairs. On September 15, 1898, by vote of the stockholders, the board of directors disposed of the property and equipment of the co-op. The creamery parcel and building was sold to Alfred K. Hills of New York. The deed was signed by Justin E. Hill and Charles W. Spalding on behalf of the creamery.
Dr. Hills converted the creamery into a tenement house and continued to own it until July 1919 at which time it was sold to Herbert L. Boynton. Mr. Boynton was a native of Maine then living in Hudson and employed by the Nashua Street Railway in the power house on Lowell Road. Mr. Boynton retained ownership of the property until October 1923 when he sold it to Raymond L. and his brother Frederick R. House of Hudson. Frederick (Fred) House passed in 1940 and his widow Helen House transferred her interest in the property to Raymond.
In January 1955 a subdivision plan was created by Ned Spaulding, Civil Engineer, resulting in a ‘creamery parcel’ and three additional land parcels. By November 1961 Ray House sold the creamery parcel to Elwin R. Moss of Nashua. Since 1961 ownership of the ‘creamery parcel’ has been transferred a few times. It is now owned by a Realty Trust; a 12 room building of 4 units on .455 acres.
26 Highland 2018
Among the artifacts in the collection of the Historical Society is a half-pint cream bottle embossed with the word ALVIRNE. I would like to think that this bottle was used in the creamery to contain cream from the cows at Alvirne Farm! The 1975 photo of the Creamery was taken by the author and is a part of the photo collection at the Historical Society. My thanks to Dick Crosby for his help with the deed research for 26 Highland Street.
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