April 24, 2015 2:13 am / Leave a comment
Alvirne Memorial Chapel c1909
The Alvirne Memorial Chapel at 160 Derry Road is one of the most popular and widely known historic sites in Hudson. In this photo we see the chapel as it looked soon after it was built. In November 1908 Dr. Alfred Hills announced his plans to erect a chapel in memory of his wife Ida Virginia Creutzborg who had passed away suddenly in May that year. He named this chapel Alvirne, after their nearby summer home. The stones used for the exterior walls were weathered granite; made available as a result of a recent addition to the cemetery. A belfry in front provided a resting place for the bell.
Architect Hubert A. Ripley published the drawings and specifications for this chapel in the January 1910 edition of Architectural Review. In these drawings was a note: “Bell Not Included”. Upon seeing this the question became Why? We have just recently learned the answer. A close up photo of the bell, taken from a elevated bucket, showed that the bell in the Alvirne Memorial Chapel is the very same bell donated to the Chapel of the Holy Angels by Dr. and Mrs. Hills in 1890. Dr. Hills saved the bell from the Holy Angels Chapel only to have it to place in the Alvirne Chapel some short time later.
Mrs. Hills passed May 19, 1908; by November of the same year Dr. Hills announced his plans to build the Alvirne Chapel in her memory, and by November 1909 the chapel was consecrated. This leads me to speculate that perhaps the plans for the Alvirne Chapel were in the minds and discussions ob both Virginia and Alfred before her death. Photo from the Historical Society Collection.
April 17, 2015 11:16 am / Leave a comment
Chapel of the Holy Angels on Lowell Road at Stewarts Corner
Between 1886 and 1905 the Chapel of the Holy Angels in Hudson served as a mission chapel of the Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Nashua. Initially services were held at the number two school off River and Steele Roads. In 1890, after the town voted to build a new school house, the church purchased the old house and moved it onto the east side of Lowell Road, just north of Stewart’s Corner.Renovations were made to the exterior and the interior of the building. A belfry and cross was placed over the front gable. In the belfry there was a bell from the foundry of Clinton H. Meneely, Troy, NY. This bell was inscribed with “Let him that heareth say come.” The belfry and bell were the gift of Dr. and Mrs. (Virginia) Hills. Other improvements were also made and the chapel was consecrated in September 1892. Weekly services continued through 1905. By 1907 the building was sold and converted into a dwelling. Until recently we had no knowledge about the disposition of the bell. Next week we will see that the bell was saved and placed in another building in this town. Photo from the collection of the Hudson Historical Society.
April 9, 2015 11:55 pm / 3 Comments on Connie’s Country Store
Connie’s Country Store – Derry Road (click pic to enlarge)
Let’s meet at Connie’s!! A widely popular spot for Hudson and Litchfield folks is shown in this 1977 photo. As you enter the building you had Connie’s Country Store and Restaurant on your right and the Garden Center and Green House on the left. By the late 1950’s the State of New Hampshire re-routed Route 102 (Derry Road), just north of the Hills House, to proceed north through parts of Litchfield, then back into Hudson, then forward to Londonderry and Derry. Before this time Route 102 followed the route of what is now Old Derry Road. The construction of this New Derry Highway extended traffic onto much previously undeveloped land in Litchfield and Hudson.
In 1959 Connie and Amadee “Midee” Desmarais purchased property at the corner of Derry and Cutler Roads and went into business. In the early years they had a fruit and vegetable stand and soon expanded to include a variety of products, food, and services. In 1965 fire destroyed the Desmarais home and business. Connie’s was rebuilt as shown in this week’s photo.
The Desmarais family operated Connie’s for over 25 years until 1985 when they considered retirement and sold the business; only to be ‘called’ out of retirement. This occured not just once, but twice!! They finally sold again in 2002.
Still known to some as Connie’s Plaza this site at 297 Derry Road is now home to Rocco’s Pizza, Klemm’s Bakery, Findeisen’s Ice Cream, Second Look Consignment, Rhino Tax preparer, and Moonlight nails. Photo from the Historical Society Collection.
April 2, 2015 8:01 pm / Leave a comment
In 1955 Kitchener’s Cabins on Route 111 in Hudson advertised as follows: one-half mile from Benson’s Wild Animal Farm, heated cabins, radios, showers, continuous hot water, fishing and boating on premises, novelties, souvenirs, and swimming at Ottarnic Lake!!
Arthur Kitchener, a Hudson resident, received a permit from the Town in 1947 to build a set of 4 cabins on land along Ferry Street near Tarnic Pond; an 8 acre parcel and a portion of the land once owned by the Balcom Ice Co.This ice house, the largest wooded house in the state, was completely destroyed by fire in November 1945. When Kitchener received the permit, it was the first such permit granted by the town. A few years later he expanded the number of cabins. By 1956 his wife Jennie Kitchener operated the cabins; still later their daughter Constance (Kitchener) Durwin owned and operated the business. .
As times and business needs changed these cabins and the surrounding property morphed into a mobile home park and an automotive repair and sales business. In 1980 it became the site of Champion Motors owned by Lenny “Mac” McCallum and the adjacent Kitchener’s Mobile Home Court was owned by Constance. Located at what is now 120 – 122 Ferry Street, opposite the Dairy Queen, this site is now the locatiom of Granite State Auto and Otarnic Pond Cooperative. Photo from the Historical Society Collection.
March 26, 2015 6:55 pm / Leave a comment
The tradition of a grocery store at Hudson Center continued when the Thompson Brothers, Dave and Bob, relocated their business to 230 Central Street in 1970 following the fire at the Kimball Hill Road location. This Central Street site had been part of the Greeley-Wentworth property. Dave and Bob ran the business together for about 5 years, at which time Dave retired from the business. Bob purchased his brother’s interests and continued to manage the store. This he did until his retirement in 2002, when he received an offer from 7-11 Corporation. Thompson’s Market was an ever popular min-supermarket which is fondly remembered by many!! In this c1977 photo we see the low price of gas and pork chops!! This location is now the 7-11 located at 230 Central Street in Hudson Center. Photo from the Historical Society Collection.
March 20, 2015 1:38 am / Leave a comment
Perhaps as early as 1888 Harvey Lewis began a long standing tradition of a grocery store in Hudson Center. Moore’s General Store at the corner of Kimball Hill Road and Hamblet Avenue began about 1925 when Earl “Dinty” Moore purchased the business from Harvey Lewis. Moore was a rural mailman in town but his family assisted with operating the store. Ownership remained with the family; passing from Earl to his son Kenneth. Later Kenneth’s brother-in-law Morillo Post entered the business. At that time they enlarged the business and added a barber shop and second floor apartments. After the death of Morillo in 1963 the business was sold to David and Robert Thompson; both of whom had worked for the Moore Family in earlier years. The Thompson Brothers operated the store at this location until November 1969 when fire badly damaged the building. Rather than rebuild on this site the Thompsons relocated their business to Central Street. This 1940’s photo shows the business before the building was enlarged by Kenneth and Morillo. This site is now the location of the ever popular Kahil’s sub and sandwich shop. Photo courtesy of Post/Granger Family and now a part of the Historical Society Collection.
March 12, 2015 5:17 pm / Leave a comment
In this c1960 aerial photo of Lowell Road and Central Street there are no signs of the traffic or of the traffic lights of today. Central Street runs horizontally along the middle of the photo with Lowell Road coming down towards the right. Just above this intersection is Hurley Street which appears as an unpaved road. In the upper left is the Lions Club Community swimming pool between Library and Hurley Streets. This pool operated between 1954 and 1968, at which time increased operating costs required it be closed. The overpass for the B&M Railroad right of way crossed Lowell Road and proceeded along Central Street towards Hudson Center. The tracks and metal connected with this overpass were removed for scrap metal in 1942; but, the abutments on either side of Lowell Road remained into the 1950’s. By the time of this photo, these abutments had also been removed. The triangular piece of land at the intersection of Central and Lowell is now Hammond Park, The Fire Department Memorial. It is interesting to see the open space around many of the homes with their family or community gardens. I would like to hear from any of our readers who can add to the detail to help date this photo. Leave a comment or send email to
HudsonHistorical@live.com. Photo was donated to the society bythe family of Leon and Gerri Hammond.
March 10, 2015 8:09 pm / Leave a comment
Revised March 17 – Lower shipping costs. $3.90 for 1 book; $5.10 for 2.
The Hudson Historical Society is participating in the Book Launch of Legendary Locals of Hudson on Sunday March 22, at 2:00pm at Rodgers Memorial Library. Please come, join us and purchase your copy of the book.
The Historical Society is fortunate to have two Mason and Hamlin reed organs in their collection. The oldest of these is a cabinet style which dates to about 1840 and given to the society in 1980 by Victoria (Ladner) Smith. It was owned by Lois Alzira Smith of the Glover and Smith Family.
The second organ was the very first organ used by The First Baptist Church here in Hudson and it dates to the mid 1850’s when it was purchased by/for the church and played by Dr. David O. Smith. It was donated to the society by Mrs. Leighton Drown in 2007. The exterior of this organ is in excellent condition thanks to the wood restoration efforts of Mr. Drown many years ago.
Our goal over time is to have both of these organs restored to playing condition. You have an opportunity to help with this restoration by purchasing your copies of Legendary Locals of Hudson from the Historical Society. The cost is $22.00 per book and ALL proceeds from books purchased from the Society will go towards the renovation of these organs. A goal of $6,500 has been set for this project.
Books can be purchased at the Book Launch on March 22. After that time purchase can be made at the Hills House at 211 Derry Road Thursday mornings 9-12 through April. Checks are accepted and should be made payable to Hudson Historical Society. If these times are not convenient send email to HudsonHistorical@live.com or call the society at 880-2020 to place your order. Books can be mailed for a shipping charge of $3.90 for a single book; $5.10 for two books. Include shipping costs in your check and mail to P.O. Box 475, Hudson, NH 03051.
March 7, 2015 8:02 pm / Leave a comment
This C1888 photo of the Hudson Center Common shows the view from the home of Eli Hamblet on Hamblet Avenue. Straight ahead is the Baptist Church, the church where he was elected as deacon just a few years earlier in 1882. The large vestry has not been built, but I am certain the need for it has been discussed among the members. To the right of the church is the home of Mrs. Mahalia Greeley; the widow of John Greeley, MD. To the left of the church is the home of Daniel Greeley. Daniel was known to have a good nature and he was well liked within the community. In the foreground and on the left of the photo is the Old Hudson Center Cemetery. Up until a few years prior to this photo the cemetery was in disrepair and the town was considering moving the remains from this site so that the size of the common could be increased. This proposal did NOT meet with public sentiment and, as it turned out, a former resident of Hudson , John Foster, made a proposal to the town that he would build a stone fence and clean up the cemetery if the town would maintain it. Imediately beyond the cemetery is a roof of a barn; possible from the barn connected to the Henry Brown House on the opposite side of the common. Photo from the Historical Society Collection.
February 27, 2015 6:58 pm / Leave a comment
After Hudson adopted a unified school district in 1896, a number of local school houses were purchased and converted into private dwellings houses. Such was the case with the house shown in this 1956 photo. The #6 (Farms District) school house was built in 1852 on what is now the vacant lot just north of 107 Derry Street and almost opposite Hudson Hardware. By 1898 the school house was converted into a dwelling by Menzell French. It remained in the French family until destroyed by fire in January 1980. For years this was the home of Harold and Maude French and family. Harold began The French Insurance Agency in the front room of this home; notice the sign along Derry Street. Maude is fondly remembered for her work with the 4-H clubs, Fortnightly Club, and her prominent role in securing funds for and the beginning of Alvirne High School. The insurance agency was continued by their son, Gordon, and now by grandson Rick and family at 12 Derry Street. Photo compliments of the French family and now a part of the Historical Society Collection.
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