that connects the Little Red Shop to the brick building with the tower on its roof can be seen but the Red is out of view. (The article about the Red Shop in Cotton Chats states that the walkway was built in 1901 and the Shop was moved to the other side of Freeeom Street in 1903. Here we can see it c. 1885. Which date is wrong? I suspect it's the date given in Cotton Chats. The walkway shows up in more pictures than I would expect it to if it was only there for two years and some of them are dated in the 1880s. While the newspaper caption refers to "Draper Corporation," it wasn't know as such until 1916. In 1885 there were a number of separate companies operating next to each other along the Mill River in Hopedale. In 1887 the Draper Company absorbed George Draper and Sons, Hopedale Machine Company, Dutcher Temple Company, Hopedale Machine Screw Company, Northrop Loom Company and Sawyer Spindle Company. Draper Company became Draper Corporation in November 1916. |