Wildlife Now and Then

Deer are no big deal in Hudson these days. They are commonly seen in the backyards of houses on the south side of Allen Street, and, although startling, seeing one or two bounding across Green Street in the vicinity of The Rosery is hardly unprecedented. Nowadays, it takes a bear in the city to make news: "Bear visits Glenwood Boulevard."

Things were different a hundred years ago. On June 17, 1914, the migration of two small deer was reported on the front page of the Hudson Evening Register and also in the Catskill Mail.

The Sheriff's residence mentioned in the news item was this house behind the Columbia County Courthouse, which still survives today.

The "Moore property" and the "Collier yard" were both on the south side of East Allen Street--421 and 427 respectively. Mrs. Lucius Moore and James C. Moore lived at 421 East Allen Street, and Fred J. Collier had his law office at 427 East Allen Street. Simpsonville was a neighborhood of houses along Power Avenue. The "Scovill yard on Second street" was at 29 South Second.

Power Avenue and Simpsonville in the 1960s--Evelyn & Robert Monthie Slide Collection, Columbia County Historical Society

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