Updated: June 27, 2022
Worcester 300 trivia
Worcester 300 trivia contest, part 12: Clothes drying entrepreneur
Photo | Courtesy of Worcester Historical Museum
An advertisement for a Hill Dryer
WBJ has partnered with the Worcester Historical Museum to run a year-long trivia contest in celebration of the 300th anniversary of Worcester’s founding on June 14, 1722. Readers should email their answer to the question below by Aug. 18 to bkane@wbjournal.com or complete the Google Form below to compete for a special year-end prize package.
Drying clothes
Joseph Hill, a native of another New England state, received his first patent for making clotheslines in 1873 and moved to Worcester three years later to take advantage of the growing city. He first rented space on Cypress Street and then moved to a new plant at 340 Park Ave., which is now near a Walgreens pharmacy. In 1909, Worcester Magazine reported more than 1 million Hill Dryers were in use throughout the country. The company remained in business until the 1950s, later as a division of Moulton Ladder, but the Hill Dryer or its descendants remain popular with homeowners and three-decker residents throughout Worcester.
Trivia question: What New England state is Joseph Hill a native of?
And the answer to last edition’s question: The patented model of Charles Thurber’s typewriter is housed at the Smithsonian Institution.
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