Nobles County MN Archives Biographies.....Ludlow, Horace J. 1843 - 
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Author: Arthur P. Rose (1908)

  HORACE J. LUDLOW, proprietor of the famous Ludlow fruit farm, known as Okabena

Orchards, on the south shore of Okabena lake, is one of the early day settlers

of Nobles county, having resided here permanently since 1875. The farm upon

which he resides is within the city limits of the village of Worthington and was

the first land farmed in the vicinity. The claim was taken by G. J. Hoffman

before Worthington was founded and before the railroad had penetrated Nobles

county. The orchard which has since become famous all over southwestern

Minnesota was started by Mr. Hoffman from seed which was secured from Peter

Gideon, of Excelsior, and the noted Okabena apple was started from that seed.

Mr. Ludlow now has about 400 trees in his orchard, and raises every kind of

fruit that the climate will permit. He has spent $3,000 in experimenting with

fruit, and today has the finest orchard in the county. He has been a member of

the state horticultural society for many years, and is an experienced

horticulturalist.



  Mr. Ludlow was born in New Providence, N. J., Jan. 7, 1843, a descendant of

the early Massachusetts settlers. Away back in colonial days his ancestor came

from England and cast his lot with the Massachusetts colony, and in his honor

was named the town of Ludlow. Members of the family drifted into New Jersey, and

in that state was born the great grandfather of our subject, Gen. Geo. Ludlow,

who played such a prominent part in the Revolutionary war. In that state was

also born Aaron M. Ludlow, our subject's father. He was born Sept. 25, 1801, and

died Sept. 7, 1852. On his mother's side Mr. Ludlow also descends from early

American settlers, who came originally from Germany. His mother, Jane (Osborn)

Ludlow, was born in New Jersey Oct. 12, 1810; she died in 1895 and is buried in

the Worthington cemetery. In the early days the Osborns resided in Ohio, but

later that branch from which Mr. Ludlow descends became residents of the same

part of New Jersey in which the Ludlows resided.



  Until he was thirteen years of age Mr. Ludlow lived in New Providence, N. J.,

attending the public schools during the winter months and working during the

summers. In 1856 he moved to Pittston, Pa., and during the next two years was

employed as a clerk in the general store of Clark & Saxe. Returning to his old

New Jersey home, he worked on the farm during the summer of 1858. In the fall he

went to Jersey City and accepted a position as clerk in the retail grocery store

of M. R. Case. He served as clerk two years, and then took the management of the

store, sharing in the profits and clearing over $1,000 during the year he was

the manager. In company with Cyrus Lawrence he then purchased the store, the

partnership continuing two years. Selling out in Jersey City, Mr. Ludlow

returned to his old home, where he remained two years. In 1865 he went to New

York city, and for four years was a traveling salesman in the employ of

Kingsbury, Abbott & Co., dealers in hats, his territory being in central

Illinois. In 1869 he set out to learn the sewing machine business with an uncle,

Ezra Ludlow, of Elizabeth City, N. J. For two years he worked with his uncle at

the business, and then for a little over two years he was the manager for the

Singer Sewing Machine Co., to which position was attached a good salary.



  Mr. Ludlow decided to invest his money in western lands, and while searching

for suitable investments came to Worthington, arriving there May 20, 1875. He

invested in some of the cheap lands then to be found in Nobles county, and

decided to make his permanent home here. In September, 1875, he purchased the

hardware stock of Hewitt & Martin, and conducted the store twelve years. He then

sold to C. St. John Cole, and opened a grocery store in Worthington, which he

ran only a short time. In the fall of 1882 he had purchased 87 acres of the old

Hoffman homestead on the south shore of the lake, and for two or three years

made his home there. In the spring of 1876 he erected a residence in the

village, made his home there, and engaged in the nursery business. In 1895 he

moved onto the farm again, and has since resided there. He now owns 208 acres of

land in one body on the lake shore, and during the year 1907 erected one of the

finest residences to be found on any Nobles county farm.



  Mr. Ludlow was married at Ripon, Wis., April 14, 1873, to Mary E. Barlow,

daughter of J. B. Barlow, who was one of the early settlers of Ripon, having

come there in 1852 from Delhi, N. Y. Mrs. Ludlow is a native of Hobart,

Delaware county, N. Y. To Mr. and Mrs. Ludlow have been born five children, as

follows: Milton, of Worthington; Joseph Burr, of Rushmore; Una, who died when

two and one-half years of age; Helen, of Worthington; Herbert Dwight, of

Worthington.



Additional Comments:
Extracted from:



AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF NOBLES COUNTY

MINNESOTA

BY

ARTHUR P. ROSE



NORTHERN HISTORY PUBLISHING COMPANY 

WORTHINGTON, MINNESOTA 

PUBLISHERS

1908



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