Hopewell Valley History Project

A volunteer effort to collect, digitize, organize, and freely share the history of the Hopewell Valley in Mercer County, New Jersey.

== Latest Updates: Sleigh Races in Snowy Hopewell – 1894 ==

Digital Publications:
– History Project book: Hopewell Borough History Briefs, 2022 Edition –
– Pennington Profile – Digital Edition –
– Hopewell Borough History Briefs – Hopewell Valley Town References –

Recent History Presentations and Videos:
– “Hopewell 57” – Hopewell Inn – Hoproco Toy Company –
– Hopewell Train Stations – Industrial Hopewell: Railroad Place –
– Life in 1900s Hopewell With the Arrival of the Railroad –
– Discovering Local History Online – Seminary Avenue Tour –
– St. Michael’s Orphanage – Hopewell Quarry – Ferrante Dress Factory –

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Site Tour

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The Hopewell Valley History Project is a volunteer effort to collect and organize the important sources of our local heritage in digital form, and share them online for open and convenient access.

We are posting curated copies of materials already in digital format, including historic ebooks and scanned maps, and also seeking out paper documents and images to manually photograph and scan for the site.

Visit the Site Index to explore the organization of the site by different types of materials. Scroll down for previews of the major sections of the site.

Site Organization (scroll down for an overview of each section):

• Visit Hopewell Valley Places – Town Indexes for quick links for information on specific local towns, including History Project reports, images, maps, and property documents.
• See Hopewell Valley Town References for an archive of the key reference books to consult for historical information on Hopewell Valley places, buildings, and people.
• See Hopewell Borough History Briefs for historical information and chronologies on Hopewell Borough organizations, businesses, and properties, and the people that made them.
• Explore the Hopewell History Map to browse properties in Hopewell Borough and view historical images and information.
• The Image Gallery contains property and town images from historic books and postcards.
• Use the Panoramic Aerials Gallery to explore 180 degree panoramic drone views.
• The Map Archives and Document Archives contain the primary reference materials of our local history, organized in interactive tables to browse and search.
• The Pamphlet Collections contain more recent leaflets and pamphlets from local towns and organizations.
• The Reference Guides are printable overviews of key materials and research references.
• The History Project YouTube Channel has both contributed videos and links to external videos.
• The Video Gallery highlights videos on Hopewell history from around the web.
• Follow the Blog and Facebook for updates on changes and additions to the site.

Recent Updates

• Add post & doc on Sleigh Races in Snowy Hopewell – 1894
• Add post & brief on Pete Hurley / Mouth Paintings
• Add post on Talk: Investigating The Hopewell Dress Factory – Presentation Video and References
• Add post on Mystery Photos – Baseball, Fire, Carnival
• Add post & briefs on Hopewell Valley Funeral Homes
• Add post & posters on Hopewell Elementary School History at the Harvest Fair
• Add post on Builders’ Guide to Hopewell Valley Construction Projects – 1888-1940
• Add post on Toll Gate and Hopewell Elementary School Centennials
• Add post on 1937-38 Hopewell Fire Dept. Rainbow Carnival
• Add post on Lou Etta Laning Baby Book from 1916
• Add post on Building World War II Avenger Torpedo Bombers at Mercer Airport
• Add post on Hopewell House Construction in 1938
• Add posts on Central High School: 1960s & 1970s
• Add post & brief on 4 Mercer – Franco’s Pizza and the Eagle Bakery
• Add post on 1900s Hopewell Bank Checks
• Add post on 2016 / 1966 Hopewell Valley Scrapbook and Photos
• Add post on Seeing the Hopewell Museum Building
• Add post on The Hopewell Drug Store Businesses
• Add post on The Hopewell Legion Monument – 1925
• Add post on The Hopewell Tomato Factory – Then & Now
• Add post on “Hopewell 57” Presentation Video and References
• Add post on 1932 Lindbergh Hopewell Scenes
• Add post on T. Johnson Design – Metalwork in Hopewell – Hopewell Grammar School Annex
• Add post on Mike Thomsen’s 1950s Memories of Pennington – Photos & book
• Add post on New Property Info in the Hopewell History Map
• Add post on St. Michael’s School & Mission Annual Reports, 1940s-1973
• Add post on Hopewell Reading Line Railroad Timetable Collection – train service
• Add post on Hopewell Valley Changes – 1962 & 1972 Road Maps
• Add post on The St. Michael’s Cemetery – and Celtic Cross
• Add post on The Cointreau Distillery at the Straube Center
• Add post on Explore Historic Hopewell Valley – House and Street Tours
• Add post and video – Songs and Prayers of the Children of St. Michael’s Orphanage
• Add posts on St. Michael’s – History, Presentation Video, Media, and References
• Add post on 1990s Pennington & Titusville Parade Videos
• Add post on Hopewell Township Police – 50th Anniversary
• Add post on Train Station Photos by Harry Abendroth
• Add post on Pennington Fire Company 125th Anniversary Booklet – 2016
• Add post and History Brief on Hopewell Theaters on South Greenwood
• Add post on Pennington Presbyterian Church Anniversary Booklets
• Add post on the 1924 A.L.A. Automobile Green Book
• Add post on 1984 Pennington Memorial Day Parade Video
• Add post and History Brief on 65 East Broad – Brick Farm Market & Malak Chevrolet
• Add post on Old School Baptist Church – Pictorial History
• Add posts on Hopewell Boro Centennial and 125th Anniversary Quilts and Hopewell Bicentennial Quilt and Pennington Bicentennial Quilts
• Add post on A Man and a Horse: Larry Kidder and Chester
• Add post on Hopewell Presbyterian Church 125th, Second Calvary Baptist Church of Hopewell
• Add posts on Remembering Community Day, 1974 – 1985 and Hopewell Harvest Fair – Photos
• Add post on on The Legion Carnival Train and Booths
• Add post on Hopewell Valley Church Histories
• Add post and video on the Titusville 1956 July 4th Parade and Water Show
• Add posts on Hopewell Grammar School – c1912
• Add post on Hopewell & Pennington Train Stations and Buildings – 1973
• Add posts on The Timberlane School Name & Hopewell School Mascots
• Add Model Ave. – Hopewell Creamery, Golden & Van Doren Lumber Yard, Finney & Fetter Saw & Feed Mill
• Add post on Hopewell Stereo Image – 1870s
• Add Model Ave. Lumber Yard – Golden & Van Doren and Finney & Fetter Saw & Feed Mill
• Add Memorial Day – Hopewell’s First Fatality in WW II
• Add Anderson Hopewell Parade Videos 1946-78
• Add Hopewell Reference Books – HHH 1897 & 1909 Hopewell,
• Add 1900 & 1914 Hopewell Herald Progress Editions newspapers and post
• Add Hopewell Valley Trolley Routes – 1902 – 1931 post with paper by Jim Klaiber
• Add Railroads of the Frog War post
• Add Hopewell photos by Ken Kaplowitz and Gary Saretzky
• Add 9 Mercer Street – Legion Hall and Stonecutting brief and Hopewell Brickyards brief
• Add Soupe de Jour and Rose & Chubby’s Luncheonette
• Add The Second Calvary Baptist Church of Hopewell
• Add Our Fascination with Lindbergh
• Add Be It Ever So Humble and Hopewell News – 1943-1946 by Dean Ashton
• Add briefs on History of the Hopewell Public Library and Broad & Louellen Streets (Presbyterian Church)

Contribute

Help share our local history with the community – for more information, email info@hopewellhistoryproject.org.

• Collect and organize historical material on interesting topics
• Digitize and transcribe historical materials
• Write summaries on important people, places, houses, etc.

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Hopewell Valley Places – Indexes By Municipality

See Historic Town Maps for galleries of historic town maps and aerial imagery.

See the Historic Property Reports archive for two sets of documentation on historic properties: Hopewell area Cultural Resource Survey documentation, and Historic Property Briefs documented using research by the History Project.

See Hopewell Borough History Briefs for historical information and chronologies on Hopewell Borough organizations, businesses, and properties, and the people that made them.

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Hopewell History Map – Properties and Images

The interactive Hopewell History Map provides a map interface for exploring information and images on historical properties in Hopewell Borough.

Browse the street addresses in the Map or Table, and click a property to view the available information in the other panels, including photo and postcard views in the Info Panel, and documentation on selected properties.

See also the Aerial Panoramas archive to pan and zoom in large aerial and panoramic imagery.

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Image Gallery – Towns and Properties

The Image Gallery is focused on photos and postcards of buildings and streets for each of the towns in the Hopewell Valley region. It also includes albums on Artwork and Photography collections, and Mementos.

The town files are named by street address and year for convenient searching and sorting – and to compare images along the same street, at the same address in different years, or from different sources.

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Pamphlet Collection – Local Organizations

The Pamphlet Collection includes scans of leaflets and pamphlets distributed by local municipalities and organizations within the last 40-some years (e.g., “ephemera”). These are typically short informational handouts that capture interesting information on towns and businesses and people. See the Books Archive for longer-form historical material.

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Reference Guides

See Hopewell Valley Town References for an archive of the key reference books to consult for historical information on Hopewell Valley places, buildings, and people.

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Book and Map Archives – Tables of Resources

The Book and Map Archives contain copies of the available resource files for convenient browsing. Browse all materials, or specific types:

• Full Archives – All Document and Map materials
• Document Archives – Historic documents, including books and pamphlets, back to the early 1900’s (large PDFs)
• Map Archives – Maps of the Hopewell Valley region, including historic maps covering the region, municipal maps (e.g., tax and zoning), and other formats.

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Recent Blog Posts – Site Updates

Searchable listing of all Blog posts with updates on new additions.