Hopedale dates to 1660, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940
Among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns · #9 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 572 buildings. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1861.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Hopedale’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Hopedale is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #9 of 283 in Massachusetts. All 3 inputs put Hopedale near the top nationally; its National Register listings ranks highest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Hopedale’s overall grade.
Massachusetts towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Massachusetts town has 46.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Hopedale’s 951 sits above most of its state (97% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 573 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.7 points). Two sources give 1660.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Hopedale’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Hopedale was first settled by Europeans in 1660. Benjamin Albee built a mill on what is now the south end of Hopedale in 1664. A 64-square-mile (170 km2) area of the Blackstone Valley was incorporated as the town of Mendon. In 1780, Milford separated from Mendon. On August 26, 1841, Adin Ballou, along with the Practical Christians, gave Hopedale its name, within the town of Milford. Ballou and the Practical Christians established the Hopedale Community based on Christian and socialist ideologies in 1842. The utopian commune went bankrupt in 1856, and its assets were purchased by Ebenezer and George Draper, manufacturers of looms. Various industries developed under the direction of the Draper brothers, including the Hopedale Machine Company and Hopedale Furnace Company. The town was officially incorporated in 1886 when it separated from Milford. George Draper designed, paid for, and cons…
Passages that mention Hopedale, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of the town of Milford, Worcester county, Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 18811882 · page 328Read the page →
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Hopedale St., from Freedom, through Hopedale Village, passing Chapel, Social, Centre, Peace, Draper, Adin, crossing Main, and passing Thwing, to Greene ; a compound of new and old roads, whose history is as follows : opened as a bridleway, or private road, from the old Jones house to Hopedale Corner, 2 rods wide, 1805 ; relaid as a public road, with some alteration of track, along the same route, 2£ rods wide, 1838 ; extended north to what is now Freedom St. (its course somewhat changed) from the old south line of the Jones farm
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History of the town of Milford, Worcester county, Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 18811882 · page 273Read the page →
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and on the fifteenth day of Dec, 1873, the community trustees transferred, by legal conveyance, all their right, title, interest, and control in, unto, and over Community Square, the meeting-house thereon standing, and the Hopedale Cemetery, to the parish. On the seventh day of Dec, 1875, the said trustees formally transferred to the parish the bulk of the Soward Fund, so called, which was donated to them in trust several years before to promote the mental and moral improvement of the young in the community. The sum thus transferred
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Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity1907 · page 316Read the page →
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ture as an occupation, and owned a good farm located in the immediate vicinity of the dividing line between Mendon and that part of Milford which was afterward incorporated as the town of Hopedale. His death occurred in 1895. He married Fannie Eliza Wheelock.
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Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester county, Massachusetts, with a history of Worcester society of antiquity1907 · page 324Read the page →
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as an apprentice the spindle works at Hopedale owned and operated by the Westcott family. He not only took kindly to this occupation but became an exceedingly skillful artisan, so much so in fact that in time he was looked upon as a permanent fixture in that establishment. He remained there until 1906 when he entered Drapers at Hopedale as an expert spindle maker, this being the same fac-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Hopedale, decade by decade
4 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1660, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Hopedale’s post office opened in 1861, and the census of 1890 counted 1,176 people here.
How does Hopedale rank for history?
Hopedale is among the most historic 1% of U.S. towns, #9 of 283 in Massachusetts. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Hopedale?
Two places: the Bancroft Memorial Library (listed 1999) and the Hopedale Village Historic District (2002).
How old are the homes in Hopedale?
35% of Hopedale’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.7 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1959.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (17), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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c. 1906
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