Part 6
Adath Hudson described Delia as a jolly, kind and easy-going lady. She enjoyed quilting and canning. Mrs. Hudson suffered a stroke in her later years and passed away March 31, 1974. She is buried beside her husband in the Mt. Judea Cemetery.
After the death of Delia, the house was occupied by sisters Joyce and Zeola. As the sole owner of the farm, Fines gave his sisters, Joyce and Zeola, a lifetime lease on the house. That lease expired in 2003 as both Joyce and Zeola passed away in that year.
The home is now vacant and owned by Adath Hudson, the surviving widow of Fines, and is operated and cared for by Richard Hudson, Fines’ oldest son, and his wife, Anita. Richard and Anita lived on the farm from 1978 until 1985, when they moved to another location slightly west of the farm. The farm is now exclusively used for raising beef cattle and harvesting hay and timber. . The Columbus and Delia Hudson farm is a vivid reminder of our past. It is a wonderful representation of a Depression-era farm.
Although it is hard to imagine that the rocky soil would produce crops such as corn and cotton, the Hudsons and many other families in remote Newton County relied heavily upon these crops for their survival during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
The home, barn and old farm machinery sit quietly in the shadow of the mountains and remind us of an earlier time when people lived modest lives and worked with their hands, and of a vanishing past which shaped the personality and character of the rural and remote Ozark Mountain region of Newton County, Arkansas.
The End
To learn more about this landmark and the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program go to:
https://www.arkansasheritage.com/arkansas-preservation/properties/arkansas-register?counties=Newton
