The photos above are from the American City article below.

    Hopedale in the 1920s and 1930s - Memories of Marshall Clark.   

    Ryan Macomber’s YouTube video made from his visit to the National Marine Museum.

    Project Star – an event to support the troops   

    During the last two weeks, I’ve made additions to pages on  The Pest House     Now and Then, Adin
    Ballou Park     Caboose Houses in Hopedale     The Old House     Patrick’s Store     Town Hall Stained
    Glass Windows     Hopedale Schools History     Draper Condo Proposal, 1987     G&U, sale to
    TORCO, 1979     Recent deaths     

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                                                The Lake Street Development

                                         An Instance of Practical and Esthetic
                                                         Industrial Housing

                                                                                By Paul R. Smith

    Among the problems of industrial plants in small towns is that of the proper housing of employees. In
    Hopedale, Mass., the Draper Company has solved the problem in a satisfactory manner, combining
    the practical and the esthetic in housing construction and surroundings. The traveler in passing
    through Hopedale is impressed both by its excellent tree-lined streets and by its attractive houses
    and well-kept grounds.

    In 1909, the Draper Company added twelve new double houses to its already large number. The
    services of Arthur A. Shurtleff, landscape architect, were secured, and Mr. Shurtleff, with a committee
    appointed by the company, looked over the available locations. The site decided upon was a ledgy
    piece of land covered with undergrowth and overlooking the mill pond above the works. After a
    topographical plan of the property had been made, sketches for the treatment of the ground were
    prepared. The plan decided upon called for a loop road which followed the edge of the mill pond
    between the pond and the proposed buildings. The houses faced this road, and their back doors
    were reached by a special service road. This not only guaranteed an economical arrangement, but
    segregated the back yards, which could be easily hidden by shrubbery.

    In arranging for the housing of employees it is essential that the houses be within a reasonable
    distance from the mills. This means that the groups of houses should be near enough to the mills to
    permit the tenants to walk to and from their work and to go home to dinner.

    It is worthy of more than passing thought to consider the types of double houses which it has for
    years been the policy of the Draper Company to build. The term “double house” usually brings to
    mind the ordinary two-flat house that is often seen in suburban districts – a house having an upper
    porch directly over the lower porch, both in the front and rear, without thought of individuality. Such
    houses are generally built for rental only, and utilities are considered the only essential. These
    houses do not require the services of architects, but are constructed after the owner’s ideas by the
    contractor in charge. The Draper Company’s houses, on the other hand, are entirely different in view
    of the fact that not only was an architect consulted, but several well-known architects, including
    Messrs, Peabody & Stearns, Robert Allen Cook, Edwin J. Lewis, Jr., Messrs. Chapman & Frazer, J.
    William Beal and Walter & Kimball, were employed, who submitted plans so that there would be
    houses of several different types harmonizing as a group, with about the same accommodations in
    each, but entirely different in exterior design.  These houses are all built with living rooms on first floor
    and sleeping rooms on second floor. These cottages are not only of attractive design but are well
    built, planned for utility, and contain modern conveniences.

    The group is arranged to consider the natural beauties of the mill pond, and no structures are
    allowed to interfere with the view of the water from the roadway. The natural vegetation of the shores
    has been retained, and shrubbery and trees have been added to the vicinity of the buildings to unify
    the entire group. Lawn spaces and planting beds are provided, and the tenants keep them in good
    order. Competition in the care of the grounds between the various tenants is keen, as each year the
    Draper Company offers prizes for the best kept grounds. These prizes are in the form of money, and
    the winners are decided upon by a committee commissioned by the Draper Company, which
    considers the care taken of the grounds throughout the entire season. One can readily see that under
    these conditions the lawns would be cared for, weeds eradicated, shrubbery beds cultivated, and that
    a general feeling of cleanliness would prevail. A water supply is brought to each house through the
    neck of land joining the peninsula with the main shore.

    These houses are popular and there is always a waiting list. The American City, December 1915.

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