Hopedale History
    June 15, 2015
    No. 278
    Mill River Men

    Hopedale in June   

    Hopedale High graduation - a few minutes of stills and video on YouTube.

    During the past two weeks, additions to pages on hope1842 have been made to: George
    Otis Draper (Obituary for his father-in-law, Herbert T. Duncan.)     Red Barn Fire (Another
    newspaper article and a picture added.)     Fire Department HIstory (Contract awarded for
    the building of the Dutcher Street fire station.)     Now and Then - The Unitarian Church
    (1938 article on renovations to the church, including mention that it would soon be heated by
    steam from Draper Corporation.)     Pistol, Skeet and Rifle clubs (1938 article on a pistol
    range at what had been the Hopedale Coal & Ice stable.)     Deaths     

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    A debate between representatives of the junior and senior classes on the topic "Resolved
    that the United States should fortify the Panama Canal" was held at the high school Friday.
    The seniors, who supported the negative, won. Milford Gazette, January 20, 1911

    Extra Guard for Draper Payroll Follows "Tip." Utmost Precautions Taken as Report Comes
    That Hopedale Firm's Payroll One of Objects of New York Gunmen. Milford Daily News,
    January 17, 1936 (Nothing happened.)

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    The Milford Congregational Church, the Town of Milford, and the Hopedale Community all
    had their beginnings in the Old House of Hopedale. The Old House stood from 1700 until
    1874 along the Mill River, a short distance downstream from where the dam at Freedom
    Street is now. Here's an article by Peter Hackett about Milford's separation from Mendon.

                                         Mill River Men Part from Mendon

                                                         By Peter Hackett

    The 225th anniversary celebration of the Milford Congregational Church April 17-24, (1966)
    puts the spotlight on history. The house where the Congregational Church was organized
    was originally in Mendon.

    Mendon will be noting its own 300th anniversary in June of next year. (1967) Its historical link
    to Milford is firmly established in the history books and much of the land now called Milford
    was once part of the Mendon territory.

    John Jones of Hull built the house shown above about 1700. Tradition says he built himself a
    log cabin first and lived there while building the house. It was in this house where the church
    was organized. In time Jones became a prominent townsman, and an elder in the Mendon
    church.

    Soon others began to settle nearby. A small stream, the Mill River, flowed through the Jones
    farm. The settlers of this area became known as the Mill River men. The area was also
    known as the Dale. A mile or more, including two hills, separated them from the center of
    Mendon where the meetinghouse was.

    While this wasn't a great distance, it was the principal reason for the Mill River men seeking
    separation to form a new town. A formal petition, presented to the town, December 10, 1735,
    was promptly "negative." This procedure was repeated annually for the next six years, but
    was always "negatived."

    Finally the petitioners decided to form a church of their own - the actual beginning of the new
    town that was to become Milford - and from their records we read: "April ye 1st, 1741, being
    a meeting ye brethren of the Church of Mendon who are styled aggrieved, it was agreed to
    appoint Wednesday, ye 15th instant, to be a day of fasting and prayer, and renewing their
    covenant with God and one another, and settling their affairs according to ye order of the
    Gospel in these churches."

    It was agreed to meet on said day at ye house of Elder Jones at nine of ye clock . The next
    record reads: "April ye 15th, 1741, the brethren of ye church of Mendon, who have been
    styled aggrieved, met according to appointment; ye with the assistance of the Elders and
    Messengers of the Church of Hopkinton and the Church of Holliston, solemnly framed
    themselves into a Church state, by signing a Chh. Covenant."

    The town bitterly protested this action and took its case to the General Court which
    compromised the issue by granting the Mill River men the incorporated status of a precinct
    rather than a town.

    The date of that act was December 23, 1741. To become permanently valid the act
    stipulated "that the said inhabitants, so set off, shall, within the space of two years from this
    time, erect a convenient Meeting House, and settle a learned orthodox Minister for the public
    Worship of God."

    Building a meeting house and settling a minister were the next two problems to be solved
    before the expiration date stated in the Act of Incorporation. A shell was erected by 1743 and
    their first minister, Rev. Amariah Frost, who was to serve them for forty-nine years, was duly
    called and settled. The council that arranged for this ordination met on December 21, 1743,
    "at the house of Eld. Jones." The records do not state where the services were solemnized
    but Ballou, in his History of Milford, says, "We may safely infer that they (ceremonies and
    festivities) all took place in the commodious mansion of the Jonses, latterly known as the Old
    House in Hopedale."

    When the precinct became incorporated as the Town of Milford in 1780, the new church - the
    Second Church of Mendon - became the First Congregational Church of Milford. The
    meeting house erected in 1743, was not finished inside, suitable for church services until
    1748. During that time it was used principally for precinct meetings, the people meanwhile
    meeting in their homes for worship services.
    By 1791, the population of the new town had increased considerably and it became
    necessary to enlarge the building. Yankee thrift and ingenuity solved the problem by cutting
    it in two and inserting fourteen feet between the ends. But the town kept growing and the old
    church became inadequate to meet the demands placed upon it. It was taken down in 1819
    and the present church erected in its place.

    In typical New England White Church character there she sits right in the center of the town,
    with Draper Park, originally the Common, to set her off. It is good to observe also that its
    gleaming spire still towers majestically above the surrounding buildings, a mute but
    impressive reminder of the place it has held in the religious affairs of this community these
    past 225 years. Milford Daily News, April 26, 1966

                          
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Congregational Church, Milford