Oder or Hudard, a Saxon chief; but its importance dates from the establishment of the woollen manufacture within the last century. It is the principal seat of the fancy woollen trade in England; and it exceeds every other place in the variety of its manufacture of this class of textile fabrics, which includes doeskins, angolas, tweeds, worsted coatings and trouserings, Ulster cloths, mohairs, cashmeres, sealskins, fancy dress skirtings, kerseys, woollen cords, quillings, a few broad cloths, and a large number of union materials. It also possesses silk and cotton spinning mills, iron foundries, engineering works for steam-engines, steam-engine boilers, and the machinery used in the various manufactures, chemical works, dye-houses, lead-piping and sanitary tube manufactories, and three organ factories. Handloom weaving is carried on in the surrounding villages, but to a much less extent than formerly. A market for woollen goods is held weekly. Coal is abundant in the vicinity. There is a sulphurous spa in the Lockwood ward, with warm, cold, vapour, and shower baths. At Almondbury, 2 miles distant from the centre of the town, there was at one time a Saxon fortress, and by some writers the Roman station Cambodunum, mentioned by Antonine, is believed to have been situated there; recent excavations, however, have proved almost conclusively that at Slack, just outside the opposite boundary of the borough, was the real Cambodunum. Kirklees park, 3 miles from Huddersfield, is popularly supposed to have been the burial-place of Robin Hood. Since 1832 Huddersfield has returned one member to parliament, and it became a municipal borough in 1868, with 12 wards, and a town council of 56 members. The area of the town was greatly increased at the time of its incorporation. The area of the parliamentary borough is 10,998 acres, and that of the municipal borough 10,498 acres. The population of the parliamentary borough in 1861 was 34,877; and in 1871, owing chiefly to the increased area, it was 74,358. The population of the municipal borough in 1880 was estimated at 81,780.
HUDSON, a city of the United States of America, capital of Columbia county, New York, is situated on the left bank of the Hudson river at the head of navigation, and on the Hudson and Boston and Hudson River Railways, 114 miles north of New York city. It stands on the ridge of a picturesque elevation called Prospect Hill, which after rising abruptly 60 feet from the river, slopes gradually to an elevation of 500 feet. The high river bank projects into the river in the form of a bold promontory, affording a delightful promenade, and having on either side a fine bay with depth of water sufficient for the largest ships. The wharves are situated at the foot of the promontory and along the margin of these bays. The city is for the most part regularly built, with streets crossing each other at right angles, and a public square situated immediately above the wharves. Works to supply the city with water have lately been constructed at a cost of 250,000 dollars. The principal buildings are the court-house, constructed of marble and limestone and surmounted by a dome, the city hall and post-office, and the academy. The city is also well supplied with other schools, and possesses three public libraries. Hudson at one time vied as a trading port with New York, and, although both its West India trade and its whale fishing have now been abandoned, it still carries on an important river trade, and has regular steam communication with New York and Albany. It also possesses large iron smelting works, a stove-foundry, a tannery, a flour-mill, breweries, iron-foundries, and factories for pianos, carriages, paper, car wheels, and steam fire-engines. Hudson was settled in 1784, being then known as Claverack Landing. It became a city in 1785. The population, which in 1870 was 8615, was 8669 in 1880.
HUDSON RIVER, or
North River, one of the largest and noblest
rivers of the
United States, and the principal
river of the
State of
New York, is formed by the confluence of two small streams which rise in the
Adirondack mountains in
Essex county. About the middle of
Warren county the
river is joined by another of nearly equal size, the
Schroon, which also has its rise in
Essex county. After receiving the
Sacondaga river 10
miles further south, the Hudson flows irregularly in an easterly direction to
Sandy Hill, after which it keeps a very straight course almost due south until it falls into
New York Bay. At
Troy it receives the
Mohawk, whose volume of
water is greater than its own, and at
Kingston the
Wallkill, but its other tributaries, though numerous, are unimportant. Its total length is about 300
miles, and the length of its course from
Sandy Hill 190
miles. At
Glen's Falls, near
Sandy Hill, it makes a precipitous descent of 50
feet, whence there are various rapids of different velocities until it reaches
Troy. It is
tidal nearly up to
Troy, and the fall from
Albany, 6
miles below
Troy, to the
mouth of the
river, a distance of 145
miles, is only 5
feet. By means of a lock and
dam it is
navigable to
Waterford, a short distance above
Troy, but large
steamers do not proceed further up than
Hudson, 29
miles below
Albany, and 116 from the
mouth of the
river. A short distance below
Albany the
navigation has been obstructed by shifting
sands, the point at which the difficulties are most formidable being the “overslaugh” at
Castleton, but extensive operations have been for some time carried on in order to effect a permanent remedy for the obstructions. The breadth of the
river at
Albany is about 300
yards, and thence to
Haverstraw, distant 34
miles from
New York, it varies from 300
yards to 900
yards. From
Haverstraw to
Piermont it expands into
Tappan Bay, with a length of 12
miles and a breadth of from 4 to 5, after which it narrows to a breadth of between 1 and 2
miles. The scenery of the
river is for the most part varied and beautiful, generally picturesque, and in many places in the highest degree striking and magnificent. In the upper part the views though not tame are a little monotonous, the gently sloping
hills, with the variegated
colours of
wood and
cultivated land and the occasional occurrence of a
town or
village, repeating one another without any marked feature to break their regularity. Below
Troy, for a considerable distance, the number of
islands renders much care in
navigation necessary. Thirty
miles from
Troy noble views begin to be obtained of the
Catskill mountains, towering up on the west
bank, the nearest eminence at the distance of about 7
miles. Forty-six
miles below
Catskill is the large and flourishing
city of
Poughkeepsie, and 14
miles further down the prosperous
city of
Newburgh, a short distance below which, at the favourite summer resort of
Cornwall Landing, the
river enters the
Highlands, passing between a series of
hills whose frequently precipitous sides rise often abruptly from the
water's edge. The views in this part of the
river are of a character in some respects unparalleled, and at several points they have an impressiveness and surprising grandeur rarely equalled. The distance through which the
river traverses this
mountain scenery is about 16
miles, and about 10
miles after it is entered
West Point is reached, a favourite landing place of tourists, the seat of the
United States military academy, and
historically interesting on account of
Fort Putnam, now in ruins,
built during the
war of
American independence, at which time a
chain was stretched across the
river to prevent the passage of
British ships. After passing the pretty
town of
Peekskill the
river widens into
Haverstraw Bay, at the extremity of which is the headland of
Croton Point. Below is the wider expanse of
Tappan Bay, upon which stands
Tarrytown, famous both
historically and from
