Several Native American burial mounds dated to the Middle or Late Woodland period have been found in what is now Birkmose Park in Hudson.

[3] Hudson was settled in 1840 by Louis Massey and his brother in-law, Peter Bouchea.

Massey and Bouchea settled at the mouth of the Willow River, near the present-day First and St. Croix Streets.

They had been part of a group that lived for some time along the river below Fort Snelling, which appears on some old maps as "Massey's Landing".

The lumber industry was the area's prime attraction, and over time sawmills were established throughout the St. Croix Valley.

On August 30, 1917, a violent mob of 1,000 held a night rally in front of the armory protesting the pacifist People's Council of America's attempt to hold a conference in Hudson's prizefighting arena.

Only after the pleadings of county attorney N. O. Varnum were the four allowed to leave town at once and unharmed.

[7] U.S. Highway 12 once crossed the St. Croix River on a toll bridge between Wisconsin and Minnesota, which provided revenue for the town.

Hudson has grown as a tourist destination and restaurants on the St. Croix in its historic downtown, along with hotels and other businesses that serve traffic on Interstate Highway 94.

[citation needed] The former greyhound racing track, St. Croix Meadows, is being redeveloped to include a hotel, dining, commercial office space, residential condos, a baseball field, an 18-hole mini golf course, and an indoor sports complex with two hockey rinks and a soccer arena.

The Trinity Academy of Hudson, a Lutheran private school, offers preschool through eighth grade.

In 2010, the University of Wisconsin–River Falls opened a satellite campus in Hudson with a focus on undergraduate and graduate degrees for adult students.