As industry grew and changed in Hardwick, the community developed into four distinct villages: Furnace, with saw, grist and fulling mills and furnaces; Gilbertville, with its textile company that built company housing and mill buildings; Wheelwright, which was essentially built to house and employ paper mill employees; and Hardwick Village. In 1832, the iron foundry at Furnace Village used 180 tons of ore and 36,000 bushels of charcoal from Hardwick's forests to produce hollow ware castings. Those not employed in agriculture or iron works staffed a tannery and made palm leaf hats.

Jobs and prosperity brought growth to the town and over 2,200 people were recorded in the community by the 1870's, many of them Irish and French Canadian immigrants. By the beginning of the 20th century, there was a large Polish immigration and the total foreign born population reached 44% of the residents.

Hardwick Massachusetts is located in Central Massachusetts,bordered by Ware on the south, Quabbin Reservoir on the west, Petersham on the north, barre on the northeast, and New Braintree on the east. Hardwick is about 30 miles north of Springfield, 34 miles west of Worcester, 69 miles west of Boston.

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