January was focused on the development and enhancement of the Hopewell History Map, an interactive map for exploring historical properties in Hopewell Borough, and displaying associated historical information and associated images (see Updates). Browse properties by clicking on address numbers on the Map, or on address rows in the Table, to view associated information and images in the Info Panel.
We finished the month with 142 files in the Archives, including 45 books and documents and 97 maps and aerials. The Image Archives now include 572 files, with 534 of Hopewell Boro, 26 of Pennington, and 12 of Titusville. Please keep the materials coming!
New Materials
New materials on the site, also available on the History Map, include:
- Hundreds of new images of Hopewell Boro in the Image Archives, including contributions from the postcard collection of Bill Frenchu and current-day images of downtown properties and streetscapes, which you can browse in the History Map.
- Five Hopewell Valley Cultural Resource (Historic Site) Surveys – over 2700 pages on over 1000 local sites in the Hopewell Valley. Individual entries for Hopewell Boro properties also are available through the History Map.
- Fascinating 1932 Hopewell Boro aerials, shot after the Lindbergh kidnapping, thanks to Sam Castoro.
- 1993 Hopewell Boro municipal tax block/lot conversion maps, showing both the current tax block/lot numbers, and the older numbers used up 1993. The History Map also now displays both set of numbers.
History Map Updates
The Hopewell History Map also has been updated to add the new images and Cultural Resource Surveys, among other changes:
- Full-screen slideshow of property images (click link in image caption footer).
- Display Cultural Resource Survey report (PDF) for the selected property (click link in property information header).
- Help / Options dialog (global “hamburger” menu button):
- Option to Show All Places in the Boro, or only show known historic properties.
- Option to Show / hide Google Map Points of Interest icons.
- Option to show Map Place Popups, or not show the map popups (i.e., when clicking quickly through many addresses)
- Extensive Help / About information
Plus various improvements to the user interface and the underlying data, including displaying both current and old block/lot numbers in the Table and in the Info Panel.
There are lots more opportunities for improving and adding to the History Map. Your comments and suggestions are welcome.
