A Missing Piece For many years, Hopedale Street—and most of Hopedale--was dominated by a large brick complex. The Draper Company, later the Draper Corporation, ran one of the most successful textile production companies in the world from within a massive facility on this road. Over a century ago, this dirt road was busy with activity swarming around the Draper plant.
Drapers’ Rise and Fall The Draper empire grew out of the commune in Hopedale. Ebenezer D. Draper, one of the 1840s community members, ran a machine shop that produced parts for mechanical weaving looms (machines that make cloth). Eventually, Draper's business became a main source of support for the communal association, eventually earning him a controlling portion of the communal shares. In 1856 Ebenezer and his entrepreneurial brother, George, purchased the community and assumed its debts. Though just recently arrived, George Draper gave rise to a new era in Hopedale. This brother had a passion for finding innovative technology to make the production of cloth more efficient. He led the company's charge to become the nation's leading producer of machines for the cloth-making industry. The more idealistic Ebenezer, who had started the business as a member of the original Hopedale community, eventually left the community altogether.
The Drapers who remained continued to push the business forward. They even purchased land in northern New England to create a steady supply of wood. Hopedale stayed connected to the outside world through modern transportation. The Grafton and Upton Railroad brought in raw goods, while trolleys provided transportation for workers from Milford and Uxbridge. At its height of production, the Draper Corporation employed more than 4,000 workers. However, by the 1960s, the Draper family divested themselves of most of their town properties and the corporation was acquired by an outside owner, Rockwell International. They closed the plant in 1978. It was truly the end of an era. After decades of vacancy, demolition of the Draper complex began in August 2020 and continued through 2022. 
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Last updated: August 26, 2022