The Bancroft house on Hopedale Street, next to the Bancroft Library. It was originally the home of Joseph and Sylvia (Thwing) Bancroft.
The 2 1/2 story Joseph Bancroft house, 46-48 Hopedale Street. Originally Italianate in style, with a gable-front, three -bay facade and bracketed cornice, the house underwent a major remodeling about 1910 that resulted in its present hip-roofed, Colonial Revival-style appearance. Hopedale Historic Village National Register Nomination, Kathleen Kelly Broomer, Preservation Consultant.
Harley and Jean Griffin bought the house from Draper/Rockwell in 1978. Jean told me that no one had lived there for at least two years, and it was in terrible shape. It looked so bad that their kids were afraid to sleep there the first night when they moved in. They did lots of work on it over the years.
Jeanne was such an admirer of Adin Ballou that some years ago when the house that originally had been his came up for sale, she bought it and moved here from Sharon. While here, she founded the Friends of Adin Ballou. Click on her picture to read more about her.
Fun and games at 26 degrees. Hopedale Pond, January 2.
Twenty-one “bootmakers” on this page of the Milford directory for 1869. Most of the other pages were loaded with bootmakers, also. Milford was a shoe shop town up to the mid-twentieth century. See more about that below, from the Milford News, January 2, 2026.
This sign is on the garage at the former Mendon Antique Center, which includes the house that was originally the Ammidon Inn. It was put up by Mendon Historical Society officer, Rich Schofield in honor of Nathan Hale’s stop there in January 1776.The building is at the Route 16/Main Street intersection. Click here for more about it’s history.
Loom ad on ebay. The Nordray loom was manufactured by the “Draper family feud company,” the Hopedale Manufacturing Company.
Wartime censored mail. The seller also has a letter from Peru and one from Switzerland sent to Draper Corp that had been censored, for sale on ebay.
January News
1883 – Five Milford cigar manufacturers made 1.251,300 cigars during the past year. Cigars were first made in Milford in 1866.
1886 – Hearing on the division of Hopedale and Milford at the State House. The entire days were taken up by the petitioners and adjourned until February 1. On that day the petitioners closed their case and previous to it the remonstrants were heard.
1896 – During 1895 there were 71,377 cases of boots and 13, 947 tons of cut granite shipped from Milford.
1910 – Milford selectmen grant permission of owners of fast horses to use Congress street for a speedway and the horsemen are leveling the snow and getting the course in readiness for racing.
F.S. Howard claims he drove a Maxwell 30 horsepower, four-cylinder auto, from Boston to Milford, in one hour and forty minutes, which is a record.
Gen. William F. Draper died in Washington, January 28, aged 67 years, 9 months, 20 days. He was an eminently successful businessman, a leader in political affairs of State and Nation, serving as Congressman and Ambassador to Italy. He was a veteran of the Civil war, having an enviable record. Funeral services were on February 2 in Hopedale, both towns joining in honoring his memory.
1918 – By orders from Washington every industry in Milford will close down tomorrow for five days to conserve fuel. Close to 2,000 workers are affected. Further orders state that for ten successive Mondays after the five day order, business must cease.
1925 – The fiery red cross, emblem of the Ku Klux Klan made its first appearance in Milford at 9:30 tonight on Bear Hill. Hose 3 went to the scene and extinguished the blaze. Fiery crosses were also lighted in Holliston and Upton.
Shopping the day before the storm.
In the 1930s, the Howard family owned a farm where the Hopedale Country Club is now. While it was evidently known in town at the time as the Red Farm because of the red barn across Mill Street from a red house, I think it was actually named Morningside Dairy Farm. Click here to read about a fire at the barn in 1937. It also includes a mention of Ethel, national champion Jersey butterfat producer. Fortunately, Ethel was rescued from the fire.
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