Hudson is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) located at the westernmost end of Pasco County,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, United States, and is included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, Hudson's population was 12,944.

History

In 1878, Isaac Hudson moved his family to the uninhabited brush of coastal Pasco County and allowed a post office to be established in his home. The town grew in the early twentieth century when the Fivay Compan

began cutting lumber and shipping it by rail to

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. Hudson stagnated when the Fivay Company went out of business in 1912 and people turned to the sea or moved away; shrimping and fishing employed about half of the working men in the 1930s to 1950s. W.L. Hendry came with his sons from Tampa and began digging inlets from the coast around Hudson Springs, using the fill to create a higher ground to put a few houses on in 1950. This was to become the Port of Hudson neighborhood. In the 1980s, people began building larger homes (most of which were mobile homes) along the canals. Now, while its older waterfront is reviving, large residential developments are spreading inland. Bayonet Point Hospital, located in Hudson Florida, is the areas local hospital. Founded in 1981, it was the first hospital to be built in North West Pasco County serving residents in Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, Hudson has a total area of , of which is land and (0.31%) is water.

Climate

Hudson has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(''Cfa'') with hot summers and cool winters. Hudson's sea-level elevation and position next to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

shape its climate. The average temperature in Hudson can range from in the winter to in the summer.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 12,158 people, 5,816 households, and 3,466 families residing in Hudson. The population density was . There were 7,686 housing units, at an average density of 1,207.5/sq. mi. (465.9/km). The racial makeup was 96.87%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.36%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, 0.22% American Indian, 0.91% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.42% from other races, and 1.19% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race comprised 2.60% of the population. There were 5,816 households, out of which 13.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were nonfamilies. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.04, and the average family size was 2.47. In Hudson, 12.9% of the population were under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 17.1% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 38.6% who were 65 years of age or older; the median age was 57 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males, and for every 100 women age 18 and over, there were 91.2 men. The median income for a household in Hudson was $33,177, and the median income for a family was $39,708. Men had a median income of $30,688, versus $24,620 for women; the

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

was $19,476. About 5.5% of families and 9.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 12.3% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Hudson has 2 Elementary Schools, 2 Middle Schools, and 3 High Schools. Elementary schools * Hudson Academy (Grades 4-5) * Hudson Primary Academy Grades (Grades K-5) Middle schools * Hudson Academy (Grades 6-8) * West Pasco Education Academy - Harry Schwettman Campus (Grades 6-8) High schools * Fivay High School (Grades 9-12) * Hudson High School (Grades 9-12) * West Pasco Education Academy - Harry Schwettman Campus (Grades 9-12)

Museums and libraries

* New Port Richey Public Library * West Pasco Historical Society Museum and Library

Parks and recreation

Robert J. Strickland Memorial Park (Hudson Beach) was built in the 1960s and is the main beach for the Hudson community. Several restaurants in the area offer water views of the gulf or adjacent canals. Veterans Memorial Park and Arthur F. Engle Memorial Park are the main indoor and outdoor sports and recreation centers, with indoor gymnasiums, outdoor fields and an outdoor pool (at Veterans Memorial Park). There are also three semiprivate golf courses: Beacon Woods Golf Club, Meadow Oaks Golf & Country Club, and Heritage Pines Country Club. Hudson once proclaimed itself the "gopher racing capital of the world".

Notable people

Bam Bam Bigelow Scott Charles Bigelow (September 1, 1961 – January 19, 2007) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Bam Bam Bigelow. Recognizable by his close-to-400-pound frame and the distinctive flame tattoo that spanned mo ...

, professional Wrestler *

Velva Darnell Velva Darnell (October 14, 1938 – August 12, 2014) was an American country and pop singer. She began her career appearing with bands in and around the Louisville, Kentucky area. Career In 1966 Darnell signed with Dot Records. Her first and on ...

, American country and pop singer * Cody Lane, stock car racing driver * Amber Mariano, politician and former Member of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

* Marie Rudisill, writer and television personality * Lindsay Zullo, footballer

References

External links

Hudson, Florida

{{authority control Census-designated places in Pasco County, Florida Census-designated places in Florida Populated coastal places in Florida on the Gulf of Mexico