Photo printed with the Worcester Telegram article below.


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                                  Hopedale Feels the Impact of Rockwell’s Shrinkage

                                                                   by John A. Fraser

                                                            Telegram Milford Bureau

    HOPEDALE (June 20, 1976) - In September, Rockwell International Corp. plans to shut off the steam that for
    years has heated the students at the Dutcher Street School here.

    But the larger valve that has regulated the flow of money, services, prosperity and security for the large
    complex to the town has slowly been offering less and less for more than two years.

    Now, Hopedale and several area towns are beginning to feel the drought. Rockwell officials, after a series of
    layoffs and building shutdowns, have told the town of 4,300 that it will have to look elsewhere for many of the
    benefits that the company has provided for a century and a quarter.

    In the early 1970s, the company employed about 2,700 workers from the area. As of last month, only about
    1,000 persons were employed there. The white-collar employees are moving to he Weaving Machinery
    Division’s busiest plant in South Carolina The entire loom-making operation, which once utilized the maze of
    buildings off Hopedale Street, has been reduced to a system that will eventually fit in one part of one floor in
    one building.

    Much of the company’s land is up for sale, and space in the factories is available for rent.

    The Draper looms, on which the “Draper” company made its reputation, are still produced by Rockwell. The
    corporation, which merged with Draper in 1967 (not a merger, actually), says the name “Draper” is still a
    huge asset – standing for quality and dependability. But the loom parts are no longer founded or machined
    in Hopedale. Assembly is the only operation done locally now. There is no belching of smoke
    (environmentally unacceptable today, but 10 years ago an indication that the gears were grinding away) at
    the plant now.

    In a March press release, Rockwell officials blamed the company’s cutbacks on foreign competition and on
    the location of the Hopedale plant – far away from most consumers, thereby adding to shipping problems.

    There was a time, in Hopedale, as in most towns with a one-industry economic base, when the entire life of
    the community was centered on the “shops.” Residents could join the Larches, a handsome old mansion that
    once served as the company president’s home (in the Rockwell years), for about $60 a year for dining and
    swimming privileges. For not much more, membership was available at the company-owned Hopedale
    Country Club and its golf course. Tiny Hopedale airport was built by the company to serve its globe-trotting
    executives. The company heated the Dutcher Street School (and the Town Hall, the library and several other
    buildings) and contributed a sewer system that serves half the town.

    In spite of the Rockwell Corporation’s regular statements that it has “a commitment to Hopedale,” many
    townspeople think they detect a hollow ring in the pronouncements.

    The area in which the plant is located has had one of the highest unemployment rates in the state for years
    (now hovering around 13 percent according to the State Division of Employment Security), and Rockwell
    officials have said more layoffs may come. They have, however, said repeatedly that cuts in the payroll and
    in the number of operations are simply cost-saving devices aimed at making the Weaving Machinery Division
    more profitable.

    On Feb 4, Louis Putze, a Rockwell corporate vice-president and president of the Utility and Industrial
    Operations Division, said the division would continue to take action that can be seen “as evidence of
    Rockwell’s continued commitment to the Draper business.” However, the announcement, unlike those in the
    past, studiously avoided singling out the Hopedale plant as a necessary part of the corporation’s loom-
    making operation.

    David Forward, local spokesman for the company, said the Hopedale workers are assembling looms from
    parts they once made from scratch. The parts are produced in Spartanburg, S.C. and Reading, Pa.

    Forward also said the entire professional staff is in the process of moving division headquarters from
    Hopedale to Spartanburg.

    There seems to be only one reason for the corporation’s continued presence in Hopedale. The tradition of
    craftsmanship that Hopedale men have brought to Draper looms for more than a century.

    “That’s a very good reason to stay here in Hopedale. Hopedale people know how to make looms. They’re the
    best,” Forward said.

    Last week there were only 1,000 of “the best” working in the largely vacant plant on Hopedale Street. There
    may be even fewer in the months to come.

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Draper plant and vicinity in the 1970s.

The Draper plant in 2009.

Google Earth view of the Draper plant and vicinity in 2019.

News - July 1920
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Here's a hit from the 1920s - Statesboro Blues by Blind Willie McTell.