Bancroft Memorial Library

The earliest actual settler within our borders was John Sprague. In 1670 he bought of John Bartlett, an original Mendon proprietor, his right to a twentyacre house- lot in the near vicinity of Albee's cornmill, westward in our now extreme southwesterly corner. It included what has long been known as the Wing Kelley place. There he built himself a domicile soon after King Philip's War. He passed away, and was succeeded by his son William, and perhaps by a later descendant. Possibly Matthias Puffer, successor to Benjamin Albee in the ownership of the corn-mill, built a rude dwelling-house on his premises. We have no reliable evidence that any other settlements were made on our territory until the year 1700. During that year two distinguished settlers planted themselves homes on lands now included in the site of Hopedale Village. These were Seth Chapin, Esq., and Elder John Jones. Their children and posterity were long conspicuous inhabitants of this neighborhood. The limits assigned to this sub-history do not allow the writer to go into many of the interesting particulars, which may be found in his exhaustive "History of Milford." If our inquisitive readers will consult that work, they will find that the early settlers of our present town . territory, their ott'spring and successors, have been a somewhat remarkably intelligent, enterprising and influential people, especially the leading families.

Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889.

To verify this let them read what is said in several chapters, and in the "Genealogical Register," concerning the Albees, Chapins, Corbetts, Greenes, Haywards, Joneses, Nelsons, Pennimans, Warfields, Wheelocks, Whites and others of various note and date. They will then be satisfied that our present population have little reason to be ashamed, either of their predecessors or themselves. In the long struggles which resulted first in making Milford a precinct, December 23, 1741, and finally a town April 11, 1780, the inhabitants of now Hopedale were prominent, persistent and influential actors. The First Church (Congregational) of Milford originated chiefly with tlie.«e inhabitants, led by Elder John Jones and his neighbors. It was formed in his dwelling-house. In that house it was organized and ecclesiastically sanctioned April 15, 1741. Many of its regular Sabbath meetings were held there, pending the erection of its first meeting-house ; and there the council convened, which ordained its first pastor, Rev. Amariah Frost, December 21, 1743. In secular affairs the influence of our antecedent citizens was at one period predominant. Samuel Penniman, Esq., at what is called South Milford, now a part of Hopedale, became a manufacturer of woolen and cotton goods, not far froai 1810, at an establishment just on the edge of Bellingham, where Charles River leaves our town. He was a man of sterling business talent and enterprise. Whether he had co-partners in the manufacture of cloth the writer was never definitely informed, but deems it probable. A little later he embarked actively in the straw goods trade, which he carried on in connection with a large grocery and dry-goods store. He did an immense business for a country merchant of those days, commanded custom throughout an area many miles in diameter, and was very popular. He employel hundreds, perhaps thousands, of straw braiders, and supplied their domestic wants out of his ample store. The then famous thoroughfare, the " Ninth Massachusetts Turnpike," so-called, had been recently opened, aud passed close by his premises, affording quite unprecedented facilities for communication with comparatively distant marts. This brought another great public convenience, a post-office. This was Milfbrd's first mail depot. It was es^tablished March 7, 1814, and Major Penniman was appointed postmaster. Milford Centre had no post-ofiice till February 10, 1823. Samuel Penniman, Esq., died, much lamented, in the prime of life, December 22, 1817. He was succeeded in business by Samuel Leeds and one of his own surviving sons. Mr. Leeds was a man of ability and executive enterprise, but after a few years the prosperity of the establishment declined, and never afterward returned to its climax. Other minor cases of business development within our now municipal limits might be mentioned with respect, but were not of sufficient importance to occupy space, until we reach the movement which evolved

Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Hopedale Town - 13,451 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.