Hopedale

Hopedale is unique among the villages of the Blackstone Valley in that it was born of two distinct attempts to create an ideal society. Founded in 1841 as a small communal association of Practical Christians who advocated temperance, abolition, women's rights, Christian socialism, and non-violence, Hopedale evolved into a paternalistic model company town.

Today, its tree lined streets, abundant parks, grand buildings and silent towering manufacturing complex invite memories of a town rooted in a dream of "peace and love" and tempered by the fire of industry and spectactular wealth.

The story began when Universalist Reverand Adin Ballou and forty-four followers purchased a 258-acre farm in an area long known as "the Dale," located on both sides of the Mill River in the town of Milford. There they established "Fraternal Community No. 1," launching what they hoped would be an ever growing number of Practical Christian communities that would transform the world.

Among this band of Yankee pioneers was Ebeneezer D. Draper, who ran a machine shop that produced parts for mechanical weaving looms. Eventually, Draper's business became the main source of support for the communal association, and in 1856 he and his entrepreneurial brother, George, purchased the community and all of its debts.

George Draper gave rise to a new era in Hopedale. His successful use of technological innovations resulted in the Draper company's emergence as the nation's leading manufacturer of looms for the textile industry.

Combining great wealth with a strong social conscience, the Draper family maintained complete control of the town for over 100 years. They provided jobs, built and maintained award-winning workers' housing, erected imposing public buildings, and regulated most aspects of public life within the community. They also left an endowment that continues to be used for community projects today.

At its height of production, the Draper Corporation employed more than 4,000 workers. But, due largely to the decline of the American textile industry, the Draper family divested themselves of most of their town properties in the 1960's, and the corporation was acquired by an outside owner.

Today, the sprawling factory lies on the edge of town like a sleeping giant. But the town's moral and social underpinnings still resonate in the streets of Hopedale- streets named freedom, social, Union, Peace, and Hope.