A little to the left of the coal shed in the middle of this 1898 map, you can see the symbols for eight houses. There was no town sewage at that end of Union Street, which explains the little squares behind each of the houses. As the Draper Company needed more room for expansion, more facilities were built over the parts of Social Street and Union Street that were west of Hopedale Street, and seven of the houses were relocated to Freedom Street, where they became known as the Seven Sisters. The eighth house was moved just a few feet, to the bend of Cemetery Street. For more on this, see the paragraphs from the National Register Nomination near the bottom of this page.
This picture, showing the sisters when they were still on Union Street, and four of the outhouses, is from one of the Bancroft Library’s glass negatives, taken by Edwin Darling
This picture was probably taken not many years after the move. The tracks of both the G&U Railroad and the Milford & Uxbidge Street Railway Company can be seen. Just two of the sisters appear. The dormers in the middle of each look the same as in the 1901 photo.
You can see the Seven Sisters all lined up on the left side of this 1947 aerial view. Click here to see more of the aerials.
This is the house on Cemetery Street that was only moved a few feet. Judging by the map, the hundred yards or so of Union Street extending over toward Bancroft Park was renamed Cemetery Street after Union Street west of Hopedale Street was discontinued.
Three of the Seven Sisters in 2010
The Seven Sisters in October 2013. The second one from the right (picture above) was converted to a single-family home some years ago.
The two paragraphs above are from the Hopedale Village Historic District National Register Nomination. It was done in 2001 by preservation consultant Kathleen Kelly Broomer for the Hopedale Historical Commission.
Now and Then – The Seven Sisters
Memories of living in the Seven Sisters by
John Cembruch Beverly Orff
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