Discovering Local History Online: Exploring Seminary Ave.

            Douglas Dixon, Hopewell Valley History Project
            Hopewell Public Library “Wednesday Night Out” Series
            Co-sponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society
                        and The Hopewell Museum

           Wednesday, July 6, 2022, 7 pm
           Attend in person at the Hopewell Theater,
                        5 South Greenwood Ave, Hopewell, NJ
           Or join online via Zoom – Click to Register Only for the Zoom Presentation

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How can we find out about our local history – people and families, places and businesses?

In this presentation, Doug Dixon of the Hopewell Valley History Project will demonstrate how researching in a variety of online resources (many free) can weave together interesting stories of our local history.

The test case for this presentation is the apparently undistinguished Seminary Avenue, which turns out to have been a “starter street” for Hopewell since it was opened around 1880. The mix of subdivided buildings with apartments and storefronts provided places where young families and small businesses could establish themselves in a growing town – from barbers and bakers and butchers, to clothing and grocery stores, plus a theatre, firehouse, and library.

Doug will explore the stories of the amazing variety of people and businesses that developed along this street, illustrated by sources including maps and photos, books and references, deeds and census records, newspaper articles and obituaries – and enhanced by the memories of local people and family members.

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Doug Dixon is an independent technology consultant and writer, now morphed into a history enthusiast. He is a board member of The Hopewell Museum and the Hopewell Valley Historical Society.

Over the past few years, Doug has developed the Hopewell Valley History Project (HopewellHistoryProject.org), working with some 90 local contributors to collect and freely share digital copies of local historical materials – now with some 500 documents and maps, 2800 images and videos, and an interactive historical map of Hopewell.

As a software technologist, Doug specializes in Web technology, databases, and digital media. He has authored four books on digital media, published hundreds of feature articles, and presented over a hundred seminars and talks.

Follow the History Project on the Blog, and on Facebook and YouTube.

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• Attend the event in person at the Hopewell Theater, 5 South Greenwood Ave, Hopewell, NJ. The event is free and open to the public – No registration is required. (See the Hopewell Theater website for masking and vaccination ID requirements.)

• Or attend the event online via Zoom – Click to Register Only for the Zoom presentation

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Besides demonstrating how to research local history and sharing stories of Seminary Avenue, this presentation also is a brazen request for contributions of local historical information and materials – before they are lost forever.