J. Paul Hudson

James Paul Hudson was an American archaeologist and historian who spent more than 40 years with the National Park Service. Sources available here describe work at Yosemite, Muir Woods, George Washington Birthplace, Morristown, and Colonial National Historical Park, with the last part of his career centered on Jamestown.

His writing focused on making early American history feel concrete and readable. In works such as A Pictorial Booklet on Early Jamestown Commodities and Industries and New Discoveries at Jamestown (with John L. Cotter), he explored what people made, traded, used, and built in the colony, drawing on archaeological evidence and historical records.

Archival records at William & Mary also show the depth of his long interest in Virginia history, including research on colonial churches and glass excavated at Jamestown. He died in 1999.