2Titles
Explore publications and collections from the past.
Community History Archive Partner
Hudson Public Library
Hudson, Iowa
Explore this community history collection to discover the people, places, organizations, and events of Hudson.
1911 to 2025Dates represented
See individual titles for available dates.
83,358Archive pages
Historical pages reported for this collection.
Explore local history
Discover the people, places, and stories of Hudson, Iowa.
Discover another side of Hudson, Iowa through newspapers preserved in the Hudson Public Library's digital archive. The archive includes The Community Comment and The Hudson Herald, with material from 1911 to 2025.
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Selected titles
A selection from Hudson Public Library: “The Community Comment” and “The Hudson Herald”.
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Free and open access
No subscription or payment required.
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A closer look
Newspaper pages connect individual accounts with a wider story, preserving how events were reported and presented to the readers of the day.
The reporting of earlier years offers a way to explore how events were understood as they happened and how local experiences became part of the historical record. A family story, a classroom project or curiosity about a familiar place can lead to a closer look at the community and the lives of earlier generations. Explore the archive online for free, without a subscription.
Explore the collection
Titles in this collection
Explore The Community Comment and The Hudson Herald through 83,358 digitized pages, with material from 1911 to 2025. Through a partnership with Advantage Archives, Hudson Public Library shares these sources from the past. Some years or items may be missing between the dates shown.
A family story or a question about a familiar place can lead somewhere unexpected. Browse the titles below and see which detail draws you in.
The Community Comment
32 pages in 1921
The Hudson Herald
83,326 pages from 1911 to 2025
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About the Archive
About the Hudson Public Library’s History Archives
The Hudson Public Library offers free and open access to its digitized archive of historical newspapers, directories, and local records—providing a valuable educational and genealogical resource. In partnership with Advantage Archives , the library fulfills a shared commitment to making firsthand accounts discoverable and accessible—preserving “history as it happened.”
About the Library
About the Hudson Public Library
Located at 401 5th Street, Hudson, Iowa, the Hudson Public Library serves a community of approximately 2,546 residents. It houses about 29,070 volumes and circulates nearly 28,985 items annually. The library offers public computers, Wi-Fi, interlibrary loans, a Library of Things, genealogy services, and digital content via platforms such as INSPIRE and Internet Archive.
Library History
The History of the Hudson Public Library
The library traces its roots to 1867 when Charles Hudson inaugurated free library service, starting with 720 volumes. The institution has grown to include historic Carnegie-era expansions, a second-floor addition in 1929 for civic collections, and later enhancements—including a children’s room renovation in 2002—all contributing to Hudson’s evolving educational infrastructure.
About the Community
About Hudson, Iowa
Located in Black Hawk County, Hudson is a city of about 2,546 as of the 2020 census. It forms part of the Waterloo–Cedar Falls metropolitan area and retains its small-town charm while growing in recent years.
Local History
Did You Know?
Advantage Archives employs preservation standards to ensure long-term access to archives, dating back to the earliest issues of Hudson newspapers. Explore the local newspapers, directories, and more at the Digital Archives: Visit the Hudson Public Library Digital Archives .
More ways to explore and share local history
Research Guidance
Compare accounts as you trace a story
The history of Hudson includes individual lives as well as events remembered by the wider community. In the digital archive shared by the Hudson Public Library, begin with a name, place or date connected with the story you want to explore. When using historical newspapers, try alternate spellings and nearby dates, then read the surrounding page to place a local story in its time. Compare later reporting or another available title to explore different perspectives rather than treating one account as the whole story. Use a report's date to look for earlier or later coverage where those issues are available. Compare what each account says and what it leaves out, treating a related mention as a lead rather than a complete history.
Compare each newspaper account with a nearby dated issue where available, noting what changes or stays consistent. Keep alternate versions and unresolved details visible rather than blending distinct sources into one story. Use those differences to frame a next question, not to settle the account before the sources support it.
Keep source details beside each quotation or observation. If accounts differ, preserve both references and note what remains unresolved. Let the evidence, rather than a smooth retelling, show where the sources agree and where the story is still open.
Community Partnership
Keeping local history a community resource
This community archive is made possible by the collaboration of the Hudson Public Library, its community, and Advantage Archives. Together, these partnerships preserve local sources and give people a way to explore, learn from, and share the history around them.
Advantage Archives covers ongoing archive hosting, storage, development, and maintenance. The institution and its community do not pay a subscription, seat license, annual support contract, or other recurring archive-service charge. Local history remains a community resource, not a subscription to maintain.
Would you like to see more of your community's history preserved and accessible? Start a conversation with your library, newspaper publisher, historical or genealogical society, museum, or school about the materials they would like to share and a possible partnership with Advantage Archives.
Learn about partnerships
Stories, research tips, and archive news
Read All About It connects archive research with the people and institutions preserving local history. Explore partner and community stories, project updates, research ideas, and perspectives on digitization, education, and working with primary sources. Use the articles as a starting point for your next question or a new way to share a discovery.
May 7, 2025
Why Microfilm is still important in 2023
Preserving documents on microfilm has been a popular method of storage for many years, and it still holds many benefits today. Here…
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May 7, 2025
Don’t Search For An Obituary By Only Searching For An “Obituary”
In the quest to trace our roots and understand our heritage, obituaries often serve as a crucial starting point. Obituaries are undoubtedly…
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April 9, 2025
Unveiling the Hidden Mysteries: Exploring Cold Cases and Unconventional Clues
Even the most esteemed police forces in the county encounter perplexing cold case files. These unsolved mysteries often leave investigators and genealogists…
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April 1, 2025
This Week in History: March 31st through April 6th
Discover History in The Community History Archives. This week in history, there is absolutely nothing to talk about… April Fools! April…
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March 24, 2025
This Week in History: March 24th through March 30th
Discover History in The Community History Archives. It has officially been a year since I started writing This Week in History,…
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March 18, 2025
It’s Your Community’s History, So Why Rent Something You Own?
We believe that history belongs to the communities where it was made - not locked behind paywalls or inaccessible due to budget restrictions. Subscription-based services and large content aggregators are generally more concerned with "content" and less concerned with the history that content contains. Their models typically involve a reoccurring charge for a plan that renews annually or licensing agreements with the library based on population served or circulation numbers. You are essentially Renting Access To YOUR History.
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