The December updates to the Hopewell Valley History Project site included historical photos of snowy views around the valley, the Hopewell train station, and some possibly false images around the area. Plus a 1924 high school program packed with ads for local businesses, and New York Times articles published directly after the Hopewell Frog War.
By the numbers, we finished the month with 245 files in the Archives, including 112 documents and 133 maps and aerials. The Image Gallery now has 2505 files, and the Aerial Panoramas Collection has 23 images. The Pamphlet Collection has 145 documents, and the Property Reports Collection has 77 documents, with 58 Site Survey reports and 19 Property Briefs. The interactive History Map includes 775 addresses with 102 historic places in Hopewell Borough. Please keep the materials coming!
Hopewell Valley or Not – Challenge!
The Hopewell Valley or Not Challenge has four newly contributed photos of what might be historic scenes from the Hopewell Valley area.
Decide whether these street scenes and factory buildings are from our area, identity the scenes, and then click to check the answers and to view other look-alike scenes.
1960s Hopewell Snowy Views
The 1960s Hopewell Snowy Views post shows three pairs of chilly-looking seasonal views of perhaps familiar scenes around Hopewell. These vistas also seem much more open – with the snow on the ground, and the leaves off the trees you can really see the surrounding area.
1924 Hopewell High School Program and Ads
This December 1924 program for the annual Hopewell High School senior class play lists some 23 names of student performers – plus has 59 small ads for local businesses in Hopewell, Pennington, and Ringoes.
Even more interesting for historians are the wide range of business ads – manufacturers and contractors, restaurants and general stores, barbers and farm supplies, auto garages and funeral parlors, and more.
The Railroads of the Frog War
The Railroads of the Frog War post included two feature articles from the New York Times published right after the event, and then describes the two local railroads involved in this battle.
- See the full Hopewell Valley Railroad Lines brief (PDF) for more information on the local railroad lines.
- See also Hopewell Train Stations: History and Art – References for references on the history of the Hopewell Valley train stations and railroad service. The video of the presentation also is now available.
Hopewell Borough Railroad Scenes Album
The new Hopewell Borough Railroad Scenes album in the Image Gallery consolidates over 70 images of the Hopewell railroad station from several sources.
These include photos back to c. 1953 of the railroad crossing at Louellen Street, views of trains along the tracks from c. 1960 and 1988, close-ups around the station in 1972, 2012, and 2021 (with interiors).
Please contact us if you have – or know of – more images and materials like these that we can share to help illuminate the history of our Hopewell Valley.
