Here's a picture that was posted on Facebook recently. If you can add any names, you can use the email link on the homepage to pass them on to me. . |
Hopedale in November 2016 Hopedale in October 2016 Hopedale history ezine for November 1 - Milford Hospital - The First Years Ezine for Mid-November - Work of a Weaver Ezine Menu HOME . |
So here we are at the corner of Hopedale and Freedom streets, looking past the fence that was replaced a few years ago, and across Hopedale Pond. And what is that on the other side? It's a building that was never built. In the late 1940s Draper Corporation was planning to build a research facility to keep up with advances in looms that would be necessary to compete with progress in other countries. The picture above comes from a plan drawn up in 1951 by David McCandless. He did it for his master's degree in architecture at MIT. As such, it wasn't necessarily a plan that Draper would use, but they were planning to build such a facility and McCandless had extensive talks with Draper people, including especially Fred FitzGerald who was head of the research department, and Edward Horton, also in the research department.
on 30431862-MIT.pdf which you'll see under Files in this item.
where the Dutcher Street School, the Chapel Street School and several houses were located. In the early 1950s all except the Dutcher Street School were razed, and according to the story, the reason for that was to make room for the research center. Another story related to this was that the center wasn't built because the most significant person involved in it was Fred Fitzgerald, and he died before any building started. That may have been the case, but if it was, there would have been quite a delay. The clipping to the right said the start was expected in 1951. Fitzgerald died in the "bird strike crash" at Logan Airport in 1960. |
the corner of Freedom and Progress streets. |
Location of Hopedale's first fire station, known as the Hose House. It was used until the present station on Dutcher Street was built. |
Once it was Billy Draper's Store. Before too long it will be a much-needed parking lot. Click here to see pictures, clippings and memories of it from the past |
Click on the Cotton Chats cover to see the entire article about Draper houses built in 1947. |
The former Walter Tillotson Post American Legion home, originally located where the police station is, and now part of the Mallard home behind the post office. |
Click here for more photos of the Freedom Street bridge project. |
Click here to go to the Milford News article on the Hopedale Planning Board decision on the Cumberland Farms proposal to replace the existing store with a much larger facility.. |
Freedom Street - November 8. |
Past peak, but still a bit of color - November 8. |
Ballou Park. Click here for more on the house. |
If a tree falls on Fisherman's Island, do the Pabst Blue Ribbon drinkers make a sound? |
Mendon Historical Society Presents
Origin and Contributions of a New England Hilltop Village Mendon, Massachusetts Episode One Mendon Roots (1620 - 1662) Please address questions/comments to John Trainor at [email protected] . |
Mendon Historical Society 350th Anniversary (1667 – 2017) Mendon Mini-Series Presentation Schedule |
Click here to see the rest of the schedule. |
Hopedale Pond - November 14. |
November 16 |
Highway Department vacuuming leaves on Lake Street - November 16. |
Billy Draper's Store. Probably not quite as you remember it. Click here to see more of the interior. They're on the bottom third of the page. |
to read about slavery in Massachusetts. |
Above - The Blackstone River and Blackstone Canal, just a bit upstream from the Tri-River Clinic in North Uxbridge. Right - Goat HIll Lock, Northbridge, a short distance upstream from the location in the picture above. There were originally about 40 locks in the Blackstone Canal. The Goat Hill and the Millville locks are the only two that remain. People found other uses for the stone from the other locks, but these two were remote enough to survive. |
I didn't have to travel to see this fireworks display. Thanks to some folks in the neighborhood, I took these pictures from my backyard. |
St. Philip's Cemetery, Grafton |
November 21. A cold, windy day. Click here to see more of the Freedom Street bridge project. |