The August updates to the History Project included a new brief on the Finney & Fetter Saw & Feed Mill, two videos of Local History Talks by Jack Koeppel, new local railroad photos, and other goodies. (See Site Updates for more.)
By the numbers, we finished the month with 280 files in the Archives, including 135 documents and 145 maps and aerials. The Image Gallery now has 2943 files, and the Aerial Panoramas Collection has 23 images. The Pamphlet Collection has 172 documents, and the Property Reports Collection has 85 documents, with 58 Site Survey reports and 27 Property Briefs. The interactive History Map includes 775 addresses with 102 historic places in Hopewell Borough. The History Project YouTube Channel is hosting 21 videos, plus 10 external local history videos, including 4 videos of History Project presentations. Please keep the materials coming!
Finney & Fetter Saw & Feed Mill
The Finney & Fetter Saw & Feed Mill operated in Hopewell for over 50 years, from 1874 to around 1927. The mill was on the triangular property at the corner of Model Avenue and Louellen Street, now occupied by the Hopewell Borough Pump House.
The saw mill manufactured car, wagon, and ship timber, mostly for export, shipped all around the world. It was built in 1874 by John Finney and A. G. Fetter. The mill was rebuilt by Fetter after a major fire in 1895.
The mill property was purchased from the Fetter family by R. Scott Kise in 1919. Kise continued to run the saw mill until around 1927. The mill was wrecked by a serious fire around 1943, and the building and associated barns and shed were then demolished and removed in 1945.
== Read the full brief on the Finney & Fetter Saw & Feed Mill (PDF) ==
Local History Talks by Jack Koeppel
Videos of two local history talks by Jack Koeppel are now available on the Hopewell Valley Historical Society YouTube channel for your viewing pleasure.
“Images of Old Hopewell: A Stroll Through Town – Now and Then” highlights Hopewell Borough’s 19th century character by juxtaposing the old with the new, matching historic images with current views of Hopewell.
“A Home in the Country: The Story of St. Michael’s Orphan Asylum & Industrial School” uses images from the past along with information and stories about St Michael’s to provide a better understanding of the property’s past, present, and future.
Hopewell Railroad Photos
The site has added new Hopewell railroad photos from the collection of the Anthracite Railroads Historical Society (ARHS).
These include some wonderful close-up views of the Hope signal tower that stood south of the Hopewell train station. This, and other similar buildings along the railbed, controlled the railroad switches that were use to guide trains between tracks.
Other Materials
Other material added to the site this month included:
- Images of the Hopeopoly game from the Hopewell Public Library
- Rockwell Pamphlets from Roger Labaw, including 1974 shutdown letters
- 1995 Hopewell Boro Community Information Guide and Map from Roger Labaw
Please contact us if you have – or know of – images and materials that we can share to help illuminate the history of our Hopewell Valley.
