first purchaser (Miss Ruth Gaylord, who gave the land to her niece). On January 1, 1800, Hudson and his family left Goshen for the township, their new permanent residence. The family stopped in Bloomfield, New York, where they met with the rest of the settlers. Hudson purchased livestock and a year's worth of supplies for $2,000, giving the livestock to four men to drive overland to the settlement. On April 30, the remaining settlers embarked on eight boats, arriving on May 20. On October 28, Anna Hudson gave birth to Anne Maria, the first person born in the settlement. By the end of the year, Hudson's colony was the first established settlement in present-day Summit County. A few more settlers arrived in 1801, and in 1802 the settlement became officially known as Hudson Township. Post-establishment After establishing Hudson Township, Hudson played a significant part in the buying, selling and farming of land in his and neighboring towns. By 1808, he owned a total of of land in Hudson and Chester Townships. On this land Hudson grew hay, potatoes, corn and wheat, and managed hogs, oxen, cows, sheep and horses. He also provided accommodations for visitors to the town. Hudson was party to about 200 financial transactions, making him a prominent figure in the area. During this period, it was typical for employers to pay employees partially in whiskey. Hudson broke this tradition by declining to pay his workers with alcohol, to their disgruntlement. (At the time, use of alcohol was viewed much more negatively than it has been since the 1933 failure of Prohibition in the United States. Many called for it to be outlawed. To not pay with liquor would have been seen as progressive.) Hudson's home, built in 1805–06, was the first frame house in town. Two-and-a-half stories tall, it measured . In addition to housing Hudson's family, it was the town's first post office, tavern, and courtroom. The courtroom was used for trials heard by justice of the peace Arthur St. Clair, whom Hudson appointed in 1800 in one of his first actions after founding the town. Hudson served as the township's first postmaster, holding the office until 1829 (when he was removed from the position after opposing Andrew Jackson in the 1828 presidential election). The house was also a frequent source of food and shelter for travelers, including fugitive slaves on the Underground Railroad, due to