Nancy L. Hawkinson History Room
What’s in the Nancy L. Hawkinson History Room?
Visit the Nancy L. Hawkinson History Room at the Hudson Area Public Library and explore the archives.
The focus of the collection is the city of Hudson, the St. Croix Valley, and St. Croix County, however there is a small collection on Wisconsin State History. The collection includes books, manuscripts, maps, microfilm, newspapers, school yearbooks, phone books, family genealogies, church books and local cemetery indexes.
Donations of local historical materials or family genealogies are welcomed by leaving at the main desk with this form.
History Room Quick Links
What’s in the Nancy L. Hawkinson History Room?
resources (archives)
access the collection
history room assistance
history room background
Resources
Hudson Area Public Library Digital Archive
In 2012, the Hudson Library and the ResCarta Foundation, using equipment provided by Northern Micrographics and a Pepsi Refresh grant, digitized over 300 photographs and artifacts. Efforts continue to add more digital data to this archive with a new Epson scanner provided by the Hudson Area Library Foundation. The scanner is available for patron use in the history room.
Interactive Maps
History Room Inventory Spreadsheet
Click here to see and search what we have here at the History Room.
Hudson Area Biographical Index (HABI)
One of the most useful resources in the collection is the Hudson Area Biographical Index (HABI) compiled by Willis H. Miller. The HABI is a comprehensive listing of the names and information on more than 56,000 Hudsonites. It covers the “Hudson Star Times” from 1890 to 1905 and the “Hudson Star-Observer” from 1909 through 2005, as well as some earlier newspapers.
Users look up a name in the HABI and then use the designated newspaper microfilm to find the actual article mentioning that person. Microfilm images may be printed to the printer in the history room for 10 cents per page.
Microfilm Machine – ProScan
The Nancy L. Hawkinson History Room houses microfilm consisting of census records from 1860-1920 and local newspapers from 1865-2014. Need assistance with the Pro Scan equipment or locating specific materials? Please ask a librarian or history room volunteer for assistance. There are also training/help videos on the library’s YouTube Channel.
Our History Room on YouTube
Please check out our YouTube channel to find training videos and also videos about the history of Hudson.
Presentations/Interviews
Lorraine Jacobs, long time contributor to the Nancy L. Hawkinson History Room, recorded a few presentations/interviews on the Hudson Cable TV River Channel:
- Italians of North Hudson
- Willow River Cemetery Tour
- Dick Larsen’s Hudson’s Early Years
- French and Indian presence in Western Wisconsin, specifically focusing on the lives and contributions of Louis Massey and Peter Bouchea, two of the founders of Hudson, Wisconsin.
- Steamboats on the St. Croix
A presentation by History Room volunteers Nancy Toll and Amy Thurston:
St. Croix County Vital Records – Register of Deeds
1101 Carmichael Road
Hudson, WI 54016
715-386-4652
Divorce and Civil Court Records – Clerk of Courts
1101 Carmichael Road
Hudson, WI 54016
715-386-4630
UW River Falls Area Research Center
Contact: archives@uwrf.edu
170 Chalmer Davee Library
River Falls, WI 54022
715-425-3567
Octagon House Museum
Contact: hudsonoctagonhouse.org
1004 Third Street
Hudson, WI 54016
715-386-2654
St. Croix Valley Genealogical Society
Contact: scvgsresearch@gmail.com
P.O. Box 396
River Falls, WI 54022
Access the Collection
The Nancy L. Hawkinson History Room is open to the public during library hours. Library staff are available to provide assistance.
Please be aware of the following policies when using History Room resources:
- Visitors to the room are asked to sign in on the history room register located on the library table in the room.
- Genealogical and historical materials are to be used onsite only.
- Materials cannot be checked out – they must be used in the History Room.
- It is the patron’s responsibility to determine if the intended use violates copyright laws.
History Room Assistance
Inquiries on genealogy or local history can be emailed to historyroom@hudsonpubliclibrary.org.
History Room volunteers are happy to assist you!
Background of the History Room
nancy l.hawkinson
The idea of a History Room was first proposed in the fall of 1982 to be used for the storage of local history records – the room and its contents to be available to patrons for the perusal of local historical information. Many of the original contributions were from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls Archives and Area Research Center.
Funding was received from the Williams Trust, used book sales, sale of the historical survey book “Buildings from the Past,” and various individuals and organizations including St. Croix County Abstract, Hudson Area Senior Citizens, State Bank of Hudson, Duro Bag, Willis Miller, Bill and Catherine Heiting, Lorraine Jacobs, John Heywood and the City Council.
Nancy L. Hawkinson (1940-2018) was a member of the St. Croix Valley Genealogical Society and longtime volunteer for the Octagon House and Hudson Friends of the Library. She was very involved with genealogical research, especially Norwegian ancestry. Nancy Spent 15 years indexing Willis Miller’s Historic Hudson articles. She was a long-time curator of Hudson Library’s History Room which has now been dedicated in her name.
The Nancy L. Hawkinson History Room has been supported by the Hudson Women’s Club, area historical and genealogical societies, and the University of Wisconsin – River Falls Archives. Al Weitkamp made the shelving for the room and Nor-Lake donated the cost of shelf material.
The Friends of the Hudson Area Library and the Hudson Library Foundation continue to support the history room by providing funds to purchase historical resources and supplies.