Last updated: July 7, 2021
Place
Little Red Shop/Draper Mill
Quick Facts
Location:
Hopedale, MA
Amenities
6 listed
Benches/Seating, Cellular Signal, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Information, Parking - Auto, Scenic View/Photo Spot
It was in this small shop that the original Hopedale community operated several machine business.The most profitable of these business was the manufacturing of loom temples from a patent held by Ebenezer Draper.
When George Draper joined his brother's business in 1853, he devoted his considerable energy to finding improved ways to mechanize the weaving process. He was so successful that they soon outgrew the Little Red Shop.
The Draper's constructed a sprawling complex of brick structures. By the 1890s, the Drapers dominated the nation's loom-making business. They manufactured every piece of the machines they used, including the nuts and bolts. They processed raw steel in their own foundry.
Today, the once powerful reminder of the Draper Corporation's exponential growth no longer stands. The mill was torn down in 2021.