Hudsonville in located in the southern part of Harrison Township, Daviess County, Indiana. It was laid out and platted as a town by Daniel Jackson one of the earliest settlers in the area. Daniel Jackson, a veteran of the War of 1812 and his wife Alice (Espa) Colbert settled in Daviess County around 1814 on land obtained by land grant from the United States Government and other purchses. He farmed several hundred acres of land with the help of his sons Ulysses, John, Julian, David and Milton. He planned the town before Daviess County was carved out of Knox County but did not record the plat in the public records of Daviess County until May 29, 1854. Daniel Jackson named the town Hudsonville after his place of birth on the Hudson River in the State of New York. Other early settlers in the area at the time of the platting were the families of Reason S. Chapman, James Allen, J.B. Colbert, Isaac Rogers, John Coffey, William C. Lucas, John Wilson, James Peachee, the Kelso family and the Henry Shircliff family. Hudsonville was a port of the East Fork of White River, one of the rivers in the chain of rivers so important to early riverboat traffic and settlers traveling westward in search of land. Early settlers migrating from the East and Kentucky crossed the East Fork of White River near Flat Rock. Ferries such as the Himsel ferry sprung up enabling travelers to cross from what is now Pike and Dubois Counties to Daviess County. Hudsonville is located in Harrison Township of Daviess County. The county was part of Knox County that goes back to 1780. Daviess County was formed out of that county in 1817. The East Fork of White River is the southern border of the county.
Hudsonville had postal service as early as 1858; however, the service was moved to nearby Glendale in 1866 and then back to Hudsonville in 1904. The Methodist M.E. Church was organized in 1851. Daniel Jackson and his sons were active in the organization of the church and it was known as Jackson's Chappel (See conveyance in Deed Record J, Page 103, Records of Daviess Co. IN.) One of the ministers was M. Heavensger who was serving in 1899. The history of Hudsonville is closely associated with that of Glendale, only two miles north and Waco located southeast of Hudsonville, all in Harrison Township. 
