The Little Red Shop
Posted by: 
dremoto
N 42° 08.022 W 071° 32.636
19T E 289752 N 4667753
The Red Shop was the original machine shop – built in the 1840s by the Hopedale Community and used by Ebenezer and George Draper – for what eventually became the Draper Corporation, the largest manufacturer of textile looms in the world and an instrumental player in the Industrial Revolution of the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Waymark Code: WM4PRT
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 09/16/2008
Views: 12
In Hopedale, one of our most distinctive attributes is the Little Red Shop. This oldest industrial building in our town graces the shores of the Hopedale Pond on Hopedale Street, just across Freedom Street from the hulking remains of the vacant Draper complex. The Red Shop was the original machine shop – built in the 1840s by the Hopedale Community and used by Ebenezer and George Draper – for what eventually became the Draper Corporation, the largest manufacturer of textile looms in the world and an instrumental player in the Industrial Revolution of the late 1800s and early 1900s. The sentimental importance of this building became evident when the wealthy Drapers – who thought little of tearing down one of their mansions to build one even grander -- moved the Red Shop on three separate occasions rather than raze it.
When the Draper Corporation turned the Little Red Shop over to the Town of Hopedale in 1976, it was with the understanding that it would be used as a museum. Inside there are original Draper and Northrop looms and information on the history of the textile industry.
Hopedale Village Historic District **
(added 2002 - Worcester County - #02000635)
Roughly bounded by Milford Town Line, Malquin Dr., Mendon Town Line and Upton Town Line, Hopedale
(8040 acres, 572 buildings, 60 structures, 7 objects)
Name of Historic District (as listed on the NRHP): Hopedale Village
Link to nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com page with the Historic District: [Web Link]
Address:
Hopedale St
Hopedale, MA 01747
How did you determine the building to be a contributing structure?: Plaque on building (Photo in gallery)
NRHP Historic District Waymark (Optional): Not listed
Optional link to narrative or database: Not listed
|