It was part of the Van Rensselaer grants, this region in time coming
to be known as the Lower Manor. The settlers here appear to have come
with money and servants, and to have been better provided for than
most of those who broke into the wilderness. Early descriptions
suggest a land flowing with milk and honey. Deer were so plenty that
one could be had from the Indians for a loaf of bread; turkeys,
pheasants, quail, hares and squirrels were everywhere; forest trees
were festooned with grape vines; blackberries, strawberries, wild
plums and nut trees abounded, and the streams were full of most
excellent fish.

The soil was fertile, and the community soon became a flourishing one,
and the centre of interest and the county seat. The fine courthouse,
erected in 1786 and still standing, was the scene of some notable
legal contests, the most memorable being the trial of Harry Croswell,
editor of the Hudson Balance, in 1804, charged with libel upon
President Jefferson. The prosecution was handled by Ambrose Spencer,
Attorney-General, and the newspaper man was defended by William H. Van
Ness and Alexander Hamilton, whose eloquence failed to save the
accused. In 1805 Hudson became the county seat, and the courthouse was
abandoned to private use.

The village still contains a number of notably fine specimens of
Colonial architecture, one of which is the Ludlow house, built in
1786. The present Ludlow, a grandson of Robert Fulton, having some
money and much leisure, has turned the old place into a Fulton museum.
The Miller house, formerly Muldor, an interesting relic of the year
1767, is known as the Court Martial House, it having been used for the
trial and its cellar for the imprisonment of delinquents during the
Revolution, the owner himself being among those who suffered, he
being given the choice of paying $1,000 or serving two months. This
appears to have been because the gentleman shirked his military
duties. His thoughts on the subject of being haled a prisoner to his
own cellar do not appear to have been recorded; possibly they would
not look well in print, as it was written by an early traveler through
this region that the inhabitants were much "addicted to misusing the
blessed name of God." Mr. Miller, if inclined that way, certainly was
afforded every opportunity. Other attractive places are the Webb
house, erected about 1790; the Old Stone House, on the Post Road,
formerly an inn, said to be haunted by the ghost