The hardening shop, the building at the left, was cut off when the previous picture was copied but the one of interest is the one that is second from the left in this view.   The caption says, "Office of E.D. & George Draper on 2nd floor  Tin Shop in basement  Shoe salesroom of Pliny Southwick, North Gable of This Bldg  Erected 1842-3 by the Hopedale Community _ "  Adin Ballou mentions only one shop being completed in early 1843 so it's tempting to think that this could be The Little Red Shop.  There are, however, some problems with this conclusion.  One is that the maps drawn at that time don't indicate the Red Shop being in this location. (the lower pond)  Also, Ballou writes that one early shop was 14 x 32 feet and the second one constructed was 30 x 40.   The present Red Shop is 20 x 90.  We know that it was lengthened twice, but the twenty foot width just doesn't match either of those buildings.  The Little Red Shop was almost certainly located just below the dam at the upper pond (at Freedom Street). The shop in the picture above was probably the 30 x 40 building that, after the demise of the Community in 1856, became the Dutcher Temple Company. See the Cotton Chats article for more on this.    Several accounts of life in the Community mention dances upstairs in one of the shops.  According to this, that would have been the temple shop, the largest buiding in this picture.  The note at the top left says: The original is on file at Hopedale Library -- Letter of transmittal from Frank Dutcher to Miss Harriet Sornberger, Librarian, 8 - 10 - 1918 -        Four early shops       1875 Map    Map Menu     Red Shop Menu        HOME