Hopedale History
    No. 336
    November 15, 2017
    The Old House - Ballou

    Hopedale in November   

    During the past two weeks additions have been made to the following hope1842.com
    pages: The Harrison Block (Hopedale Pharmacy - picture of Stella Williams.)     Deaths   

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    Your committee has discussed with the Draper Company the subject of furnishing
    electricity for lighting, and a contract can be made with the Draper Company which will be
    to the advantage of the town. Geo. A. Draper, E.A. Darling, Town Report, 1915 (My
    guess is that this referred to street lighting.)

    Shall the proposed law which provides for an additional method of nominating candidates
    for nomination, at the state primaries in September, by members of political parties, for
    these offices to be filled by all the voters of the Commonwealth at a state election be
    approved? Yes - 570     No - 237     Blanks - 563  Town Report 1932

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    The story below is a continuation of the one sent on October 1.

                                                 The Old House at Hopedale

                                                         By Rev. Adin Ballou.

    In  the first sentence below, the letter referred to was written to George Farquhar Jones,
    the great-great grandson of John Jones, the original settler of what much later became
    Hopedale, and the builder of the original section of the Old House.

    After the visit to Milford, a letter came from the Rev. Mr. Ballou, in which he says: "In the
    multitude of matters hurriedly talked over when you and your brother were here, I
    strangely forgot some relics and mementos. I also entirely forgot a historic sketch of "The
    Old House," written by me and printed in the Milford Journal, in 1874, the year it was
    demolished. I wrote this before I had traced your great-great-grandfather (Elder John), to
    his original home in Hull, Mass. I have only two copies of the journal containing this article.
    I am sure you will be interested in reading it, and, therefore, enclose herein one of these
    copies." If those who were never related to our family can be interested in all that refers to
    the old mansion, it must certainly be to us a matter of great interest. They could hardly
    entertain any other feeling than curiosity as to matters regarding the house and its former
    inmates, but to us, their descendants, everything appertaining to it and to them must be
    highly interesting. I, therefore, give Mr. Ballou's description, or sketch, as he calls it,
    making one or two slight corrections and with some omissions:

    Messrs. Editors: In compliance with your request and recent announcement, I present your
    readers the following historical sketch relating to "The Old Jones House" in our village,
    which has just been demolished. That venerable mansion has been the centre of many
    interesting associations, transactions and occurrences. I have not been able to fix with
    certainty the exact dates of some important particulars in its history, but with the aid of
    reliable records and oral traditions, feel warranted in assuming the general correctness of
    my statements. It was a two-story structure facing south, 40 by 30 feet in dimensions, and
    until a few years ago, had a one-story kitchen appendage on the north, 26 by 20 feet,
    covering the ancient well, still the best in our whole village. The great stone chimney
    contained not less than 3,300 cubic feet, or 200 perch, or nearly 26 cords. It had, below
    and above, five fireplaces and the same number of ovens, the latter mostly of brick. Of the
    three fireplaces below, the largest had stone jambs 8 feet apart in the flue, with a huge
    oak mantel-beam 14 inches square, and it was capable of taking in fuel 6 feet in length.
    The whole stone-work was laid in clay mortar. The cellar was 6 feet in depth, and so
    fashioned as to leave a square body of earth under and south of the chimney, 20 by 10
    feet, but strongly walled up, affording ample space east, north and south for domestic
    convenience. The timber frame was of solid oak, and found to be nearly all sound, with
    ponderous beams 12 inches square, girts 14 by 6 inches, and other pieces of
    corresponding strength. Some of this timber was sawed, and the western half of the house
    walled with solid plank, fastened to sills, plates and girts with wooden pins. Antique spikes
    and nails were used in other parts of the structure. The inside ceiling and ornamental work
    was of nice pine stuff, and has been safely stored away for preservation, as also such
    relics as were deemed valuable to antiquaries.

    This ancient dwelling was erected at two different periods. The oldest half was built by
    Elder John Jones, according to my present best information, between 1700 and 1704, and
    the youngest half jointly by said Elder John and his son, Mr. Joseph Jones, in 1730 to
    1735 — the last date having been inscribed in antique figures on a wooden tablet in the
    western gable, and now carefully preserved. I have not found, as yet, any conclusive
    written evidence of the exact date at which the oldest half was built. Some 25 years ago,
    the Rev. David Long, the second regular Pastor of the Milford Congregational Church and
    Parish, a man of great accuracy, as well as information in all such matters, told me that it
    must be then about 150 years old. If so, it must have been built not far from the year 1700,
    and certainly not later than 1703 or 1704.

    This accords well with an ancient deed from Seth Chapin, a near neighbor to Elder John
    Jones, in which a certain " drift-way " is re- served 3 rods wide, running by Jones' house
    on the south side towards " Magomiscock Woods," then covering the highlands northeast
    of Hopedale. This deed dates back to 1703 or 1704. It also accords with the well-
    remembered statements of the late Mrs. Roxa (Rawson) Rockwood, last wife of Deacon
    Peter Rockwood, and of her venerable brother, Jared Rawson. His deceased sister was a
    living chronicle of olden times, events and traditions, and he is scarcely less so. Their
    testimony is a positive tradition that the oldest section of the Jones house was the first
    framed one in the whole territory now included in the town of Milford. Thus we arrive at the
    conclusion that the first built portion of this edifice was at least 170 years old at the time of
    its demolition, and that the second built portion was 137 years old.

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    The plaque shown above is near the statue of Adin Ballou at Adin Ballou
    Park. Click here to go to the story of another Old House plaque.

Thanks to Dick Grady for sending this.

Typo - In the third row, that's Squire Kay, not Squire Kag.


    In the 1950s and 1960s, Draper Corporation was making an
    attempt to survive by diversifying. They bought a number of
    companies at that time. Two names I remember hearing back
    then were Blue Jet chain saws and Granite State lawn
    mowers. Thanks to John Athanasopoulos for sending the
    Blue Jet items below. He found them on Ebay.