Ann & Hope

The
very
first
Ann & Hope was a famous New England discount retailer for decades. Founded by Martin Chase back in about 1953 it pioneered all types of new ideas like shopping carts and lots of free parking for the costumers. Many of the ideas were later copied by more recent retail giants like Wal-​Mart and others.
Times change however and all the Ann & Hope department stores bit the dust in 2001 with only a few of the stores remaining open as strange combinations of dollar stores, garden centers and curtain and bath places. A far cry from the huge clothing and department stores of the past.
One of the few Ann & Hopes that are still around is the strange one in Cumberland. Everything about this place is odd. It looks odd, smells odd and feels odd. Perhaps this oddness comes from the fact that this was the very first Ann & Hope that was opened by Martin Chase back in 1953 or so.
This whole complex use to be an old mill and and Chase purchased it in 1946 to rent out to other folks. He saw that his renters were doing so well that he decided to sell his own stuff here. For some odd reason instead of naming the store after himself he kept the old and odd name of the mill, Ann & Hope. The name comes from a ship that sunk off of Block Island in 1806, a rather odd name for a department store.
The store today is an anachronism, an odd relic from a time that is long past. It still is pretty cool to walk around this dark and strange old mill and even buy some curtains, bedding, plastic things or perhaps a new toilet seat. Sure you can still save some money and get some bargains here but the coolest thing you can get from visiting this odd place is a piece of history.