Ward House

The early settlement of the Reserve was an effort to reproduce in this Western wild the honored institutions of the motherland. This was the beginning of the golden period of the Connecticut churches, a period marked by revivals of religion throughout the State, distinguished for their power, purity and permanent influence, gi'eatly enlarging the chm-ches, improving the moi-als of society, and bringing the people of the State, to a great extent, under the control of religion." It was just at this time also that the Connecticut method of " missions to the new settlements " was completed, which was destined to play so important a part in the New Connecticut; and these civilizing influences combined to leave an impress upon the plastic civilization of the new land that has been ciystallized in the cultm'e of to-day. These influences were early marked, and perhaps nowhere more distinctly than in the region which is now embraced in Summit County. A letter from the Western Reserve to Eastern friends dated 1812, reads as follows: "I like Tallmadge better on several accounts than any other place I have seen. The settlers in this toA\Ta are much the most respectable of any on the Reserve. There is provision made for the pennanent support of preaching, which is not the case in any other town." Another letter dated from Tallmadge in the same year, speaks in the same strain: "I am persuaded that if any of om' fi'iends tliiulv of going to a new country, they will find none that they will be so well pleased with, either on account of the quality of the land or of the society. I do not think there is in the State of Connecticut a society where there is that attention paid to the Sabbath, and to religion generally, that there is here. There are very few who do not attend meeting regularly, and very few prayerless families." There is no question but that the early histoiy of Tallmadge was exceptional in some respects, but of Hudson it was scai'cely less true. Its founder, the son of a tailor who taught his children as he plied his trade, grew up to advanced manhood embracing skeptical notions. Caught by the sweeping power of the chiur.h movement of this period he was converted, and with the characteristic practicability of the Pm-itan mind, he sought an opportunity to prove his faith in work. The missionary spirit that had begun to pervade the religious communities of his native State, and the recent organization of the gi'eat Land Company, prepared the way which he adopted without hesitation. Zealous in his new found faith, " he wished to do something to repair the injury he had done, and to advance, to the extent of his ability, the interests of that cause which he had early labored to destroy. These were the views that led him to emigrate. * * * * The early efforts and sacrifices of the men who came to Hudson, show that they were actuated by the motives I have ascribed to them. They never suffered the Sabbath to pass by after the settlement was commenced, without religious worship; and by great effort and great pecuniary expenditure, they provided for the enjoyment of religious ordinances among themselves, and sought to promote the progi-ess of religion in this part of our country. It was the first desire of ^Ir. Hudson's heart to see the day when a chm'ch shou^ld be organized within the township, and he rejoiced in that day. The next object of desire was that this chiu-ch might enjoy the labors of a settled Pastor, and he lived to see that day and was glad. Then it was in his heart to see a house erected for the worship of Grod, and that he saw completed to his great satisfaction. 'But,' said he, 'the college - the college; that was a child of my old age. I never expected to live to see that.' Yet the college was in coincidence with his plans and with his missionary spirit. He spent most of his time in visiting Clmstian families in all parts of the Reserve, and securing the organization of churches and it was with him a matter of painful solicitude, how the infant chm*ches rising up on the Reserve were to be supplied with able, faithful ministers, in sufficient numbers to meet their wants. The college came in as the appropriate instrument to supply the deficiency."*

Passage source: History of Summit County, with an Outline Sketch of Ohio, published 1881.

The original purchasers of this township with its annexes, were Nathaniel Norton, of Bloomfield, N. Y.,Birdseye Norton and David Hudson, of Goshen. Conn. There are no means now of ascertaining the arrangement between these partners in relation to this purchase. Nathaniel Norton was a well-to-do farmer in Bloomfield, N. Y., where he had come as an early settler ; Birdseye Norton was a wealthy merchant of Goshen, and David Hudson a farmer in comfortable circumstances, but of little cash capital. From such evidence as the old account books of Mr. Hudson afford, it is probable that Birdseye Norton furnished one-half of the capital and each of the others contributing a fourth, Mr. Hudson probably turning in his Connecticut farm to Mr. Birdseye Norton. The land was purchased at 52 cents per acre, but with the equalizing annexes the average cost per acre was reduced to 34 cents. Nathaniel Norton, some time in 1S()1, disposed of his share, probably to Stephen Baldwin, Benjamin Oviatt and Theodore Parmele. The first di-aft of the Reserve was made in 1798. and earlv in the following: yeai'. Mr. Hudson started out to explore and survey the land for the company in which he was a partner. His preparations for his new adventui'e were carefully made, as the following exhibit taken from an old account-book shows : far West was forced to depend upon the uncertain guidance of Indian trails and the surveyor's marks. The thoroughfare of Western travel was by the lakes, and IVIr. Hudson has left a carefully prepared " traveler's guide " over that route as follows: From Black Rock to Buffalo Creek, tlu-ee miles; Buffalo Creek to Five Mile Creek, live miles; Five Mile Creek to Eighteen Mile Creek, thirteen miles; Eighteen Mile Creek to Cattaraugus, twelve miles; Cattaraugus to Four Mile Creek, four miles; Four Mile Creek to Fifteen Mile Creek, eleven miles; Fifteen Mile Creek to Chataqua, twenty-live miles; Chataqua to Lowiy's, sixteen miles; Lowry's to Presque Isle, sixteen miles; Presq^^e Isle to Walnut Creek, twelve miles ; Walnut Creek to Elk Creek, eight miles ; Elk Creek to Conneaut, ten miles; Conneaut to Ashtabula, fourteen miles; Ashtabula to Grand River, twenty-six miles; Grand River to Chagrin, ten miles; Chagrin to Cuyahoga, twenty miles; a total of 205 miles. The only public source of information in regard to this country was " Morse's Geography," which represented the latter river as navigable for sloops for forty miles from its moiith.

Passage source: History of Summit County, with an Outline Sketch of Ohio, published 1881.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Hudson City - 83,835 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.