The Hopedale Community was founded in

Milford, Massachusetts Milford is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 30,379 according to the 2020 census. First settled in 1662 and incorporated in 1780, Milford became a booming industrial and quarrying community in the 19th c ...

, in 1843 by

Adin Ballou Adin Ballou (1803–1890) was an American proponent of Christian nonresistance, Christian anarchism and socialism, abolitionism and the founder of the Hopedale Community. Through his long career as a Universalist and Unitarian minister, he ...

. He and his followers purchased of land on which they built homes for the community members, chapels and the factories for which the company was initially formed. The area was later split from Milford and became the town of

Hopedale, Massachusetts Hopedale is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located 25 miles southwest of Boston, in eastern Massachusetts. With origins as a Christian utopian community, the town was later home to Draper Corporation, a large loom ...

. Ballou believed that he could create a utopian community blending the features of a factory town with those of a religion-based commune. He called this "

Practical Christianity Practical charismatic theology is a subset of Christian theology that teaches how to practically apply Charismatic Christianity, charismatic Christian theology in the everyday life of a believer. Theology is the study of the nature of God and religi ...

" but unlike several similar communities, it was important to Ballou that Hopedale would not be isolated from the rest of society. The community stood for

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...

and education. Fourteen years after the land was purchased, Hopedale went bankrupt. The intentional community was converted into a textile factory town. The factories were purchased by George and Ebenezer Draper, later of the

Draper Corporation The Draper Corporation was once the largest maker of power looms for the textile industry in the United States. It operated in Hopedale, Massachusetts for more than 130 years. Beginnings In the early 19th century, Ira Draper was a prosperou ...

Joint Stock Community

Each person, upon joining the Community, invested their property into the Community. Each year they were credited according to this amount. If a person were to leave the Community, they were given either their initial investment or ninety percent of that which was credited to them.

Gender equality

The Hopedale Community, or Fraternal Community No. 1, made many attempts to create equality among all members. Though Ballou stated that men and women were equal members of the society, he commented that male and female roles were set by their creator. This meant that within the community, men and women were allowed to take part in democratic processes, but women were, for the most part, given domestically oriented jobs while the men were the governmental leaders. There was even a special sector of the "Hopedale Industrial Army" that doubled as a traditional sewing circle for women to socialize while working. However, there were several women who took on roles in the government and promotion of the community. According to Edward K. Spann's book, ''Hopedale:'' ''From Commune to Company Town, 1840–1920'', Abby H. Price, an elected official of the Hopedale community, acted as a spokeswoman for equal rights and work compensation.

Community beliefs

Hopedale Community was founded upon Ballou's Universalist beliefs about

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. He believed that Jesus Christ had made it possible for people to live a good life on Earth and so this community was instituted to be an example of this life. The

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

lifestyle at Hopedale was more concerned with equality, love and sharing than it was about the dogmas of religion. In his book, ''Practical Christian Socialism'', Ballou outlines the principles of theology, righteousness and social order. I. Principles of Theological Truth
1. The existence of one All-Perfect Infinite God.
2. The mediatorial manifestation of God through Christ.
3. Divine revelations and inspirations given to men.
4. The immortal existence of human and angelic spirits.
5. The moral agency and religious obligation of mankind.
6. The certainty of a perfect divine retribution.
7. The necessity of man's spiritual regeneration.
8. The final universal triumph of good over evil. II. Principles of Personal Righteousness.
1. Reverence for the Divine and spiritual.
2. Self-denial for righteousness' sake.
3. Justice to all beings.
4. Truth in all manifestations of mind.
5. Love in all spiritual relations.
6. Purity in all things.
7. Patience in all right aims and pursuits.
8. Unceasing progress towards perfection. III. Principles of Social Order
1. The supreme Fatherhood of God.
2. The universal Brotherhood of Man.
3. The declared perfect love of God to Man.
4. The required perfect love of Man to God.
5. The required perfect love of Man to Man.
6. The required just reproof and disfellowship of evildoers.
7. The required non-resistance of evildoers with evil.
8. The designed unity of the righteous.

References

{{reflist *Ballou, Adin. ''Practical Christian Socialism'' Care-of: Friends of Adin Ballo

*Spann, Edward K. ''Hopedale: From Commune to Company Town 1840-1920'' Columbus: Ohio State University Press. 1992. 1843 establishments in Massachusetts Milford, Massachusetts History of Worcester County, Massachusetts Utopian communities in the United States Populated places established in 1843 Christian radicalism