Remember the good old days when our Route 31 was known as Route 69 – and the exciting new proposed route of I-95 was planned to be routed north up the Hopewell Valley through Mt. Rose? These Esso maps from 1961 and 1969 tell the story of those “interesting” days. There are two extracts from each map, one showing the Hopewell Valley down to Trenton, and the other showing a larger view of Mercer County and north.
The 1961 map cover still used the Humble company name along with the Esso oval, and is illustrated at the bottom with Happy, the Esso Oil “Drop Man” mascot – to wish you “Happy Motoring!” (“Esso” is the phonetic pronunciation “S” and “O”, the initials of Standard Oil – See Grease Monkey Garage.)
Esso’s introduction of the “Put a tiger in your tank!” advertising campaign phased out Happy for the tiger mascot, as seen on the 1969 map cover.
== See the Esso Maps in the Image Gallery ==
Route 69 Before 31
Our Route 31 south of Pennington was known as the Hopewell and Ewing Turnpike back around 1885. Today’s N.J. Route 31 began to be laid out by the state in the late 1920s. The section extending north between Pennington-Hopewell Rd. and the Hunterdon County line was built by the state in 1929 as part of the then N.J. Route 30. The Pennington Circle and Bypass (from the Circle up to the end of North Main) were built by the state in 1933-34 to avoid downtown Pennington. (See Hopewell: A Historic Geography on Amazon.)
The highway was known as Route 30 from 1927 to 1953, when it was renumbered to Route 69 to avoid conflicting with US 30 in southern New Jersey. Then it was renumbered again in 1967 to the current Route 31, due to sign theft that resulted from the slang meaning of the number “69.” (See Wikipedia and NJ 101.5 on Route 69 and 31.)
These two maps extracts focusing on the Hopewell Valley show the change (in green).
The 1961 map (left) shows Route 69 from Trenton to Ringoes, where it continued up 202 to Flemington and up to the future I-78 in Clinton.
The 1969 map (right) then shows the same highway renumbered to Route 31.
I-95 Routes
The other big change on these maps is the proposed routes for I-95 up through our area. The plan from the late 1960s and early 1970s was to build a freeway in the Route 31 corridor that would begin in the Trenton area and extend as far north as I-84 in Port Jervis, New York. These two maps extracts that show Mercer County and north show the change (in blue)
The 1961 map (left) shows a proposed highway coming north from Trenton and staying west of Route 1, cutting through Lawrence and Plainsboro to meet the N. J. Turnpike west of New Brunswick and then continuing up to cross the in-progress I-287. There’s also the start of a route from Yardley across the Scudders Falls bridge (then Route 129), which was then going to loop west over to Route 1 (the path of our I-295).
The 1969 map (right) shows a new plan to send I-95 straight through the Hopewell Valley. The section across the bridge from Yardley also was designated as I-95, with a new section to be completed up from Langhorn, Pa. Then the new route would proceed north into N. J., between Lawrenceville and Pennington, up through Mt. Rose, between Skillman and Blawenburg, and then continue up past Belle Mead. The loop west from Scudders Falls was then designated as I-295, to cross Route 1 and circle back down to Trenton to meet with a new I-195.
Highways and Byways
In the end, however, the plans to cut I-95 through the Hopewell Valley were canceled in the mid-1970s due to opposition from area residents and environmental and financial constraints.
Also note the few general points of interest from our area that were selected to be marked on these maps. Trenton has the State Fair Grounds, Princeton has Palmer Stadium and the Battlefield State Park, and Hopewell has the Washington Crossing State Park. The maps also include the small towns of Harbourton, Woodsville, Centerville, and Mt. Rose.
== See the Esso Maps in the Image Gallery ==
- See also: 1920s and 1962 Hopewell Road Maps – including the original route of our Route 31 – through Pennington and forking at Marshall’s Corner
What else do you notice about these maps? Do you have similar maps from other years that you can share that show changes in our roads?
More on Local Road Maps and Travel
Posts on local road maps and travel guides showing the development of the road infrastructure in the Hopewell Area.
- 1924 A.L.A. Automobile Green Book – Early touring guide with maps, travel information, and directions
- 1932 N. J. Driver’s Test Brochure – Q&A on traffic laws
- 1920s and 1962 Hopewell Road Maps – State and Township maps showing the original route of our Route 31 – through Pennington and forking at Marshall’s Corner
- Hopewell Valley Changes – 1962 & 1972 Road Maps – Township maps showing roads from new developments
- 1960s Hopewell Maps with Route 69 and I-95 – Esso maps showing the predecessor to our Route 31, and the plans for routing I-95 through the Hopewell Valley
