HHA Awards Historic Marker to Hale-Blackman House

Barbara and Riley Lochridge, current owners of the home located 128 Hudson Street, have received a marker from Hudson Heritage Association for a property that has connections to some of the most significant and interesting early settlers of Hudson and to some of the community’s most important historical events or eras.

The marker was presented to Barbara Lochridge at the association’s November 10 general meeting.

Built in 1854 on land that was originally part of David Hudson’s farm, the house will be known as the Hale-Blackman house and given dual dates of 1854/1880. The name honors two early Hudson families: the family of the first resident, William Hale, and the family of Edward and Martha Blackman. Hale was the son of the pioneer Jonathan Hale who established the Hale farmstead in 1810, now known as Hale Farm & Village.  The Blackmans purchased the house in 1872; their family and descendants owned the house for 82 years.

After being part of David Hudson’s farm for many years, the parcel at 128 Hudson Street was first sold to Henry Day, a key player in the failed railroad speculation that swept Hudson in the 1850s.  Day sold the house at 128 Hudson Street to Henry Pierce – likely the acting head at Western Reserve College at the time.  Within a year of Pierce’s purchase, a small cottage was built on the site, and over time with numerous additions, evolved into the home that can be seen today. Hale and his family only lived in the home for three years before returning east.  The property changed hands to a member of the Ellsworth family before it was sold in 1892 to Edward Blackman, a Civil War veteran and a carpenter responsible for many of the changes and additions the property experienced over the next eight decades. Although the house is considered by some to be Greek Revival in style, it is actually an eclectic design featuring a series of changes that transformed it from a three-room cottage to a two-story home with a wrap-around porch.  Many original details, including parts of the original cottage foundation, are still in place.

Hudson Heritage Association established its program to award markers to historic properties in the community in 1973. Having a marker indicates the building has been researched to document its history, notable features of its architecture and details about its ownership and occupants. More information about the requirements for an HHA marker and guidance about conducting the research required can be found at here.  Information about the homes that have HHA markers can be found at the “Find a Property” section of the HHA website, where visitors can search by street, property name, age or other categories.  Click here for more details.  The reports are also available through the Hudson Library and Historical Society.