Hopedale is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States.

With origins as a Christian utopian community, the town was later home to Draper Corporation, a large loom manufacturer throughout the 20th century until its closure in 1980.

Today, Hopedale has become a bedroom community for professionals working in Greater Boston and is home to highly ranked public schools.

Benjamin Albee[2] built a mill on what is now the south end of Hopedale in 1664.

On August 26, 1841, Adin Ballou, along with the Practical Christians, gave Hopedale its name, within the town of Milford.

The utopian commune went bankrupt in 1856, and its assets were purchased by Ebenezer and George Draper, manufacturers of looms.

[3] The marble sculpture outside the library was paid for by the Drapers and shipped from Rome in 1904.

[3] There have been several attempts at redeveloping the facility and its surrounding property, most recently in 2007, 2018, and finally, 2020, when it was announced that it would be fully demolished.

[3] The Draper factory was slated to be demolished beginning in July 2020,[4][5] and as of October 2020, demolition has begun.

[6] To many of the citizens’ surprise, the latter attempt was successful, and the land where the factory once sat has been completely leveled and cleaned.

The largest body of water is Hopedale Pond, located not far from the town center.

[9] Hopedale Pond is surrounded by the Parklands, a 275-acre public nature reserve with walking trails, designed in 1899 by a firm operated by Frederick Law Olmsted.

[11] According to the Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.5 km2 (1.7 sq mi).

As of the census[20] of 2000, there were 4,158 people, 1,616 households, and 1,082 families in the Hopedale CDP, comprising the main village in the town.

[21][22] Following the Great Recession, Hopedale explored the possibility of joining Nipmuc Regional High School, however strong community dissent and concerns over a lack of educational benefit led to a rejection of the proposal in late 2010.