301 N. Broadway Street
In 1979, the Hubbard House was approved and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Tom Gumbrell and Phyllis Gumbrell, who were once residents of the Hubbard House, are responsible for the house being placed on the National Register. The Original east wing of the house was built in 1857 by Silas Hubbard, one of the first doctors to practice medicine in Hudson.
The Hubbard House is significant as it was the boyhood home of Elbert Hubbard for 16 years. Elbert became secretary-treasurer of his brother-in-law’s company, the J.D. Larkin Soap Company, in 1876. He sold his share of the Larkin business in 1892 for $75,000 because he wanted to be an author. Hubbard was a famous writer, philosopher, businessman and lecturer from 1892 until his death in 1915. His booklet, “A Message to Garcia” sold 40 million copies. He established the Roycroft Shops in East Aurora, New York in 1896. The shops specialized in printing, bookbinding, handmade copperware, and the manufacturing of mission-style furniture. The Roycroft Campus is still in operation.
Elbert’s mother had been begging Dr. Hubbard for an addition to the house. Since Dr. Hubbard was known not to push his clients for payment for his services, Elbert and his mother searched the doctor’s records for patients who might be able to make payment through labor, construction materials or possibly cash. After riding his horse throughout McLean County asking for donations, the new section of the house was built in 1872. The addition is attached to the west side of the original house and was constructed in a typical I-house design.
The stone marker at the front of the property was placed by the McLean County Historical Society in 1936 in honor of Dr. Silas Hubbard’s service as a doctor in Hudson for 43 years (1857 – 1900). Dr. Hubbard and his wife, Juliana, moved to Buffalo, New York in 1900. Dr. Silas Hubbard died in 1917 and Juliana Hubbard in 1924.
Elbert Hubbard and his wife, Alice, were passengers on the Lusitania when it was sunk on May 7, 1915. They did not survive.
Special Note: The Hudson Area Public Library’s Hudson History Room has a collection of more than 140 Hubbard items. The History Room is open during normal library hours.
The Lellelids are the current owners of the historic Hubbard House.