Gilbert came to Hopedale in 1849 at the age of nine when his mother joined the Hopedale Community. When he was a little older he worked as an apprentice in Adin Ballou’s print shop. Among his accomplishments in life, he became the first American to use fingerprints for identification, and he was one of the founding members of the National Geographic Society. Click on his picture to see more about Gilbert.
In 1986-87 there was a proposal to convert the Draper buildings to 1200 condo units. Click here to read about the process, and why it never happened.
Around the block.
August 1
Lower Jones, Inman, Elm, Beech, Dutcher
Loooks like something will be built on top of the rubble of the original Sacred Heart Church. Whoever wrote the article about it in 1987 couldn’t have been familiar with the area. Strange first paragraph.
Click on either picture above to see more of the town park project.
Click either picture to read about the Bright Oak Club and the Italian Club.
Here’s a Hopedale penny post stamp on ebay again. Click here to go to Susan Thwing’s memories of the Hopedale Community post office. Information on the stamp can be seen in the bottom quarter of the page.
For the first three decades of the 20th century the big event in Hopedale in August was the field day. Click on the picture above from 1929 to see more.
Maersk distribution center – August 20. Activity there has picked up quite a bit compared to a week or two ago.
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