The paragraph above is from the Hopedale Historic Village National Register Nomination. As for the sentence about three institutional buildings built in 1898, in addition to the library, they were the Unitarian Church and the Dutcher Street School. For a history of the Bancroft Library, click on the picture above.
From an early age, Don had a fascination with milk wagons. Eventually, he had one. He also had memories of life in the five-corners neighborhood of Hopedale, and the early days of Sacred Heart Church. Click on the picture of Don in his milk wagon to go to them.
On April 5, photographer James Hunt presented a program at the Unitarian Church of fascinating black and white photos of the demolition of the Draper plant. Click here to see more of them.
Thanks to Mike Cyr for sending this picture from the Greer Heritage Museum in Greer, South Carolina. This loom was the last model of fly shuttle loom that Draper produced. They followed that by trying to produce a shuttleless loom, but what they came up with lost out to the competition.
Thanks to Al Marzetta for this 1902 view of the Draper plant. That was about two years after the trolley bridge was built over the pond, and about ten years before the Main Office was built.
In 1953, the fire station bell was taken down. Click on the picture to see why, and where it is now.
Replacing ties on G&U track in the right-of-way in the Parklands.
A dusting of snow two morings in a row. This picture was taken in my backyard on April 12.
General and Mrs. U.S. Grant
Hopedale Pond viewed from above the railroad tracks.
Doves in my pear tree. The house design is for robins, and that’s what used it during its first two years. This is now the third year that doves have nested there.
Recently, while looking for information on the Warfield family of Hopedale, one site that turned up was “oldmanscanlon.” I had found some things on it years ago, so I decided to take a look. I was a little surprised by what I found. I wasn’t surprised, though, that Elaine had homemade bread to give out.
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