- Land donated by Mr. Kimball Webster 1904.
- September 3, 1908 Hudson residents agreed to accept a building in honor Ida Virginia Cruetzborg Hills.
- Building began in October 1908 and finished in May 1909.
- Library dedicated on June 11, 1909.
- Accepted to National Register of Historic Places on June 7, 1984.
- Added to NH Register of Historic Places on April 30, 2012.
Hills Memorial Library (HML)
Land, on the corner of Ferry and Sanders Street, was donated by Mr. Kimball Webster on September 17th, 1904 with the intent that a public library should be built upon it. After the death of Ida Virginia Creutzborg Hills on May 4th, 1908, her husband, Dr. Alfred K. Hills and her mother, Mary Field Clark Creutzborg offered to bear the expense of erecting a library if the town agreed. At a town meeting on September 3rd, 1908 Hudson residents unanimously adopted a resolution to accept a building in her honor. Mr. Hubert G. Ripley, an architect from Boston, was hired. Groundbreaking began in October 1908, and concluded in May 1909. The cost of the building (measuring 70′ by 50′ on the outside, and providing slightly less than 2,500 square feet of usable space) was approximately $14,000. The library was dedicated on June 11, 1909 (on the 22nd anniversary of Dr. and Mrs. Hills wedding) and first served the public of Hudson on June 12, 1909.
At the end of the first year of operation, 830 of the town’s 1,344 residents had obtained a library card. The library held 4,153 volumes, and boasted a circulation of 5,015. At the end of fiscal year 2009, 14,522 of the town’s estimated 24,000 residents had library cards. And the Library held 55,983 items and had a circulation of 161,125.
Eventually the small size of the library became a problem for the growing community of Hudson. 2 single wide trailers, 2 bookmobiles, and 2 adjacent properties were purchased over the years but did not alleviate the space issues. HML closed its doors on April 18, 2009, just shy of its 100th birthday. The contents were moved to the new library, George H. and Ella M. Rodgers Memorial Library at the north end of town.
HML applied for and was accepted to the National Register of Historic Places on June 7, 1984 and also to the NH Register of Historic Places on April 30, 2012. The building is currently being utilized for events and meetings by the Library Board of Trustees and School Board as well as by the Friends of the Library for monthly book sales.