The May updates to the History Project included a video of the 1965 Titusville July 4th celebration and a 1975 video of the bar at the Hopewell Inn, plus historic images of William Howe’s “Dixie Farm” in Pennington, and video and references for the Hopewell Inn presentation. (See Site Updates for more.)
By the numbers, we finished the month with 300 files in the Archives, including 150 documents and 150 maps and aerials. The Image Gallery now has 3270 files, and the Panoramas Collection has 44 images. The Pamphlet Collection has 192 documents, and the Property Reports Collection has 87 documents, with 58 Site Survey reports and 29 Property Briefs. The interactive History Map includes 775 addresses with 102 historic places in Hopewell Borough. The History Project YouTube Channel is hosting 28 videos, plus 15 external local history videos, including 6 videos of History Project presentations. Please keep the materials coming!
Titusville 1956 July 4th Parade and Water Show
We now have a 1956 video of the Titusville July 4th Parade and Water Show.
The video starts with scenes around Titusville, including views from the water, buildings and streets on land, and on the docks. Next comes the Titusville parade passing in review with commentary. The video then shifts the annual Water Show, with commentary, describing the boats passing in parade, water skiing, ski jumping, and boat racing.
1975 Video of the Hopewell Inn Bar
This video from around 1975 shows the bar of the Hopewell Inn, Broad Street at Seminary Avenue in Hopewell.
The video shows the bartender, Albert Rathousky, working at the bar, patrons chatting at the bar, and people playing shuffleboard and darts.
William Howe’s “Dixie Farm” in Pennington
We have five fascinating historic (and snowy) images of 65 Main Street, known as “Dixie Farm” when it was the home of William P. Howe, Sr. from 1910 to around 1913.
The building was originally built in the first half of the 1800s, and extensively remodeled by Howe in 1910.Only three years later, Howe moved further down South Main Street because he needed more land for plantings and seedlings for his Howe Nurseries business.
See also the Howe Nurseries Spring, 1932 Evergreens wholesale catalog (PDF).
Hopewell Memorial Day Weekend Parades and Veterans Services
Another post highlighted the Memorial Day weekend events in the Hopewell Valley, including the Hopewell Borough parade on Sunday and the Pennington Parade on Monday.
Local veterans groups hold memorial services over the weekend – in Hopewell Township on Saturday, and Hopewell Borough and Pennington before the parades on Sunday and Monday, respectively.
The Story of the Hopewell Inn – Video and References
Presentation video and slides, and other Hopewell Inn material and references have been posted from The Story of the Hopewell Inn – and the People Who Sustained It presentation by Douglas Dixon, held on May 3, 2023.
This presentation explores the forgotten history of the Hopewell Inn, and the people and families who nurtured and reinvigorated the building and ran the businesses through the years. It also includes a visual tour of the building in its final form – not only the exterior and public spaces, but also the upstairs rooms, cellar, and foundation.
Please contact us if you have – or know of – other images and materials that we can share to help illuminate the history of our Hopewell Valley.
