March Speaker to Share The Story of Hudson’s Long-lost Saloons

Noted local historian and storyteller Tom Vince will be the featured speaker at the March 14 Hudson Heritage Association meeting when he shares the largely untold story of “saloons in Hudson” and their impact on the community and its residents during the mid-19^th century and early 20th century.

Known as a staid, quiet village built on traditional New England values, Hudson eventually became home to a number of establishments selling alcohol, Vince says.  Most disappeared without a trace, but their influence on the community can still be found in historical records, including details of a murder committed in front of Pierce House on the Western Reserve Academy grounds in 1860. Another establishment, A.W. Lockart’s saloon located in the Mansion House Hotel on Main Street, is infamous for being the origin of the April 1892 fire that destroyed nearly half of the town’s commercial properties.  Alcohol also played a role in the philanthropy of James Ellsworth, Vince reports.  Ellsworth’s historic pledge to provide Hudson with electric and water service was actually tied to a vote to close the city’s liquor establishments, he says.

Vince also will describe the subsequent move by various local entrepreneurs to establish and operate several speakeasies, which added their own stories to Hudson’s historical record.

Tom Vince has been Archivist and Historian at Western Reserve Academy since 1996.  He has been actively studying Hudson history for more than 50 years, has written many articles in print and online, and did the “Moment in Hudson History” segment for HCTV for about 25 years.  He is a past-president of Hudson Heritage Association.

The March 14 meeting, which begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Barlow Community Center, is free and open to the public.  Refreshments will be served following the presentation.