by Douglas Dixon
Here are some highlights of the 2023 additions to the History Project site, with links to more information, plus associated documents, maps, photos, and videos.
The purpose of the Hopewell Valley History Project is assemble an archive of reference material in local history, shared online in digital and searchable formats for education and research.
Thanks to the support of over 130 individual contributors, the site ended 2023 with some 594 documents and maps, and 4148 images and videos. A total of 962 files were added to the collection in the past year, continuing to grow from the beginning of the project in August 2019
Contents
- Local History Presentations – Quarry, Hopewell Inn
- Hopewell History Briefs – The Book, Brick / Malek, Quarry & Swim Club
- Document Archives – Hopewell Valley Churches, Pennington Day Booklets
- Map Archives – 1974 Aerials
- Local Features – Old School Baptist Church, Quilts, Legion Carnival, Hopewell School Names,
Runyon Farmstead Construction Updates, Hopewell Inn Construction Updates,
Hopewell Inn Discoveries - Image Gallery: St. Michael’s, Hopewell Grammar School Kids
- Video Channel – Titusville 1956 July 4th, 1975 Hopewell Inn Bar
Local History Presentations
There were two new History Project presentations on local history in 2023 – on the Quarry Swimming Club and on the Hopewell Inn. Eight presentation videos are now available on the History Project YouTube channel, plus two additional external videos also based on History Project research.
See the presentation information for thanks to the many people who provided information and materials for this research.
Quarry Swim Club Presentation
The Hopewell Quarry, west of Hopewell Borough, has a nearly 150 year history, first as a rock quarry making crushed stone for local roads, and then evolving into the swimming club that we know today.
This profusely illustrated presentation, Memories of the Hopewell Quarry, surveys this century and a quarter of local history, from stones to swimming. First, tracing the development of quarries in the Hopewell area and then exploring how the Hopewell quarry site evolved as a swim club for over a century.
- See post on the Hopewell Quarry Swim Club Photos
- See post on 1940s Videos at the Hopewell Quarry Swim Club
Hopewell Inn Presentation
The Hopewell Inn, long known as the Central Hotel, had a nearly 150 year history as a part of the town of Hopewell before it was demolished in July 2022.
This presentation, The Story of the Hopewell Inn, 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.
- See post on Hopewell Inn Tours and Hopewell Inn Memorabilia
- See post on the 1975 Video at the Hopewell Inn Bar
- See posts on the Hopewell Inn Demolition and Hopewell Inn Construction
Hopewell History Briefs
The archive of local historical materials at the History Project has been particularly helpful in researching a series of Hopewell History Briefs that provide historical information and chronologies on Hopewell Borough organizations, businesses, and properties – and the people that made them.
These research reports draw on the materials on this site, plus other sources including newspaper archives, deeds, and census records, plus information from local contributors. The History Project site finished the year some 40 History Briefs.
- See the list of Hopewell History Briefs, and associated presentation videos
Hopewell History Briefs, 2022 Edition – The Book
Hopewell Borough History Briefs, 2022 Edition is a snapshot of the research work on the History Project as of the end of 2022, including 40 History Briefs, with additional maps, summaries of the collections, and references.
The book is available in two versions for download (PDF):
- Full Version – The entire contents of all the briefs – 500 pages
- Digest Version – One-page summaries of each brief – 68 pages
65 East Broad, Hopewell – Markets and Autos
65 East Broad Street in Hopewell was built in 1933 as a combination garage, store, and apartment – and as the new home of the Arena family and their Italian-American grocery business.
The building was shared by multiple businesses into the 1940s, and then was the home of several auto sales and repair businesses until Malek Chevrolet closed in 2010. The Brick Farm Market then operated there from 2013 to 2023.
- See the full brief on 65 East Broad – Markets and Autos (PDF)
The Hopewell Quarry & The Swim Club
The Hopewell Quarry has a nearly 150 year history, first as a rock quarry making crushed stone for local roads, and then evolving into the swimming club that we know today. (See the Local History Presentations above.)
- See the brief on the Hopewell Quarry Stone Crusher (PDF)
- See the brief on the Hopewell Quarry Swim Club (PDF)
Document Archives and Pamphlet Collection
The History Project Document Archives contains includes historic books from the mid 1800’s and early 1900’s and other published materials, including History Briefs.
The Pamphlet Collection contains leaflets and pamphlets distributed by local municipalities and organizations within the last 40-some years (e.g., “ephemera”).
The Property Reports are research reports organized by town and street address. These include Cultural Resource Survey documentation, and History Briefs from the History Project.
The History Project site finished the year with some 439 documents, pamphlets, and history and property briefs, with over 60 files added during 2023.
Hopewell Valley Church Histories
The History Project now includes more on Hopewell Valley Church Histories with new pictorial St. Alphonsus church directories in Hopewell Borough, plus histories of the Pennington churches.
There are also materials from Hopewell Presbyterian Church, Hopewell Calvary Baptist Church, and the Hopewell Old School Baptist Church.
Hopewell Presbyterian Church 125th Anniversary (2002)
The Hopewell Presbyterian Church 125th Anniversary presentation from 2002 was created to celebrate and document the 125th anniversary of the Hopewell Presbyterian Church.
The presentation includes historical photos and information on the early church properties along West Broad and Louellen streets, a chronology of the current church buildings, and a timeline of church leaders back to 1877 – many with photos.
- View the full 2002 Hopewell Presbyterian 125th Anniversary Presentation (PDF)
Pennington Day Booklet Collection
The Pennington Day Booklet Collection includes eleven booklets from the period of 1987 through 1999 (with a couple missing), thanks to Jon and Mary Baum, who created the booklets from 1989 to 1996.
The over 400 pages were scanned to Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format, with text recognition (OCR) run on them so they are fully searchable.
Map Archives
The History Project Map Archives includes historic maps, municipal maps, and aerial images. The collection includes pages on all known key publicly available maps of the Hopewell Valley and its towns.
Also see the Panoramas Collection to pan/zoom in historic and more recent aerial images, plus panoramas from drones and other ground-level panoramas. Select an image to pan/zoom in the view, including panning 360 degrees in full-circle panoramas.
The History Project site finished the year with some 155 maps and aerial images.
Hopewell Borough 1974 Aerials
A new set of Hopewell Borough 1974 Aerials, contributed by Roger Labaw, shows views around the Hopewell Elementary School, along Broad Street, and over Highland Cemetery.
The Panoramas Collection currently contains nine such sets of aerials and panoramas, dating back to 1932 Lindbergh era aerials of Hopewell, and also including views of Pennington and around Hopewell Township.
- See the 1974 Hopewell Boro Aerials in the Panorama Collection
- See all the aerials and panoramas in the Panorama Collection
Local Features
Thanks to multiple contributors, the History Project also covered other interesting local topics.
Old School Baptist Church – Pictorial History
View a pictorial summary of the history of the Old School Baptist Church and its property. The historic building and cemetery are remarkably well preserved and substantially unchanged from over a century ago.
The Old School Baptist Church was the core of the historic settlement of Hopewell Borough in the 1700s and 1800s, as the settlement around the then Baptist Meeting House grew into a village and then into a town. The current church building was constructed in 1822 on the site of the first meeting house, which was built in 1747. The Baptist congregation itself was organized in 1715.
- See also the video of the December 2023 presentation on New Research, Investigations, and Plans for the The Old School Baptist Meeting of Hopewell.
Hopewell Bicentennial Quilt
The Hopewell Bicentennial Quilt, entirely sewn by hand, and was the work of 44 women who labored for just over a year from April 1975 to May 1976. It currently hangs at the Hopewell Museum.
The quilt is 9 by 8 feet, with 42 squares that illustrate scenes, symbols, or buildings – historic or current – that are directly connected with Hopewell or the nearby countryside.
Hopewell Boro Centennial and 125th Anniversary Quilts
Local children created two quilts to celebrate the 1891 incorporation of Hopewell Borough – one for the Centennial in 1991 and the other for the 125th Anniversary in 2016.
The Hopewell Public Library Hopewell Centennial Quilt was created in 1991. It has a total of 30 squares, presumably prepared by children at the Library, with Hopewell scenes.
The Hopewell 125th Anniversary Quilt from 2016 is on display at Borough Hall. It has a community of houses, created by children from the five Hopewell Borough churches: Calvary Baptist, Second Calvary Baptist, Hopewell United Methodist, St. Alphonsus, and Hopewell Presbyterian.
Legion Carnival Booths and Train
The American Legion Carnival was held in the 1960s and 1970s at the post home of Hopewell Valley American Legion Post 339, on Van Dyke Road in Hopewell Township. The event included kiddie rides, amusements, refreshments, and free dancing to live music.
We were able to uses several collections of photos from the 1970s to illustrate the variety of Carnival booths, including amusement games to win prizes, refreshment stands, and kid’s activities.
People also remember the Carnival Train, a trolley / bus that ferried passengers to the Legion grounds on Van Dyke Road from around the Hopewell area.
These train-looking vehicles were operated by a charitable honor society for veterans, the “Forty & Eight.” The group was formed in 1920 after the First World War, and named for the French boxcars that carried American doughboys to the front lines. The boxcars were labelled “40/8,” for “quarente hommes et huit chevaux” – since they were designed to carry forty men or eight horses.
Hopewell School Names and Mascots
Our Hopewell schools have interesting mascots, and interesting stories for the names for the schools as well.
Some of the schools use official logos that pretty much ignore the mascots, like Bear Tavern and Toll Gate, while others like Central High and Timberlane and Hopewell go all-in on the mascots as their logos, and Stony Brook splits the difference.
Some of the mascots play off the school’s name, like “Bear” Tavern, and the Toll “Gator.” Others are more traditional team names, like the Bulldogs and Timber Wolves, while the Stony Brook All-Stars break the mold. And then there’s the Hopewell Frog, with a twist on the historical connection to the Frog War.
We also were able to report the origins of the Timberlane School name. The Timberlane area was developed around 1954 by Ted Pierson, in partnership with George Moorhead. At the time, the Timberlane name was used for this property, as separate from Pennington, which then grew into our [North] Timberlane Drive and South Timberlane Drive.
Runyon Farmstead Construction Updates
We are tracking progress at the Runyon Farmstead property at 19 West Broad Street, just west of South Greenwood Avenue. this is one of the oldest houses in the borough, and was the site of the Hopewell Baptist Academy from around 1756 to 1767.
Construction on the project started at the end of May 2023. Work on the three new barns (duplex apartments) began, and by the end of the year the buildings were being closed up.
- See the Runyon Farmstead Construction album in the Image Gallery
Hopewell Inn Construction Updates
See the Hopewell Inn Construction Updates post to track developments in the construction of the new Hopewell Inn building, and to view the associated construction album in the Image Gallery.
Construction started in April 2023 with digging out the full construction pit for the building. Through July, the basement footings have been poured, basement piping laid, the forms for the basement walls were construction with rebar reinforcement, and the concrete then poured for the basement walls.
- See the Hopewell Inn Construction album in the Image Gallery
Hopewell Inn Discoveries
Additional perspectives on the Hopewell Inn, based on comparing multiple photos of the building during its history.
- Inside the Hopewell Inn – Uses a collection of photos to move up to and inside the Hopewell Inn (then Gebhart’s Hotel) during the 1932 Lindbergh press frenzy, explaining the crowds and matching the building interior to written descriptions from the building’s renovations in 1905.
- Seeing Changes to the Hopewell Inn – Explores the four major phases in the renovations to the Hopewell Inn by different owners over the last century and a half. As a result, when you look at any photo of the building, the details on the front of the structure will reveal the corresponding time period in its history.
Image Gallery
The History Project Image Gallery is organized into albums of images for local towns (organized by street address), for local places and events (e.g., Memorial Day, Harvest Fair, Railroads), for Mementos of local places and businesses, and for Artwork and Photography collections. There are also several historical Slide Shows.
The site finished 2023 with some 4070 images, including photos, postcards, and panoramas, with some 883 files added during 2023.
- See also the Hopewell Quarry Swim Club album in the Image Gallery
St. Michael’s Orphanage Photo Collection
We have posted a new collection of some 180 photos of people and activities at St. Michael’s Orphanage in a album on the History Project site. This is in addition to the some 30 existing mostly postcards of the building, for a total of over 200 images now shared on the site.
These include over 100 images from the archives of the Sisters of Saint Francis showing activities with the sisters and the kids, over 30 images of the St. Michael’s farm courtesy of Rick Klevze, and family photos with views around the St. Michael’s property, including some 15 photos contributed by Madilyn Benrubi.
- See the St. Michael’s album in the Image Gallery
Hopewell Grammar School Kids – c1912
An amazing collection of images from around 1912 show the kids at the Lincoln Grammar School on Model Avenue in Hopewell, as photographed by Ethel Holeman, a new teacher starting her career there, courtesy of of her daughter, Eleanora McAlinden Kolbert.
One photo shows the view from the front of the school building, facing a muddy Model Avenue. The horse-drawn covered wagon is the “school bus” of its time, the school transportation wagon that served children from outside of town.
Other Kolbert photos show the Skillman General Store and attached Skillman, N. J. Post Office, are from around 1950.
- See the Kolbert / McAlinden photo album in the Image Gallery
Tom Taylor Postcards – Dixie Farm
Special thanks to Tom Taylor for contributing a trove of some 100 postcards of Hopewell, Pennington, Titusville, and Washington Crossing (both the N.J. and Penna. sides).
These include five fascinating historic (and snowy) images of 65 Main Street in Pennington, known as “Dixie Farm” when it was the home of William P. Howe, Sr. from 1910 to around 1913. Three of these images show the front of the building through the trees, with the portico and colonnaded driveway. The other two show the other sides of the building.
- View the Tom Taylor postcards in the Image Gallery
Video Channel
The History Project YouTube Channel was added in 2022, and now includes 28 hosted videos plus additional external videos of local interest.
The channel features contributed videos from back to the 1940s, current-day videos including the Hopewell Inn tours and demolition, and History Project presentations.
- See the Hopewell Borough History Briefs list with links to the associated presentation videos
- See the External Project Presentations, with two videos from the Hopewell Museum based on History Project research (Chocolate Factory and Tomato Factory)
Titusville 1956 July 4th Parade and Water Show
We now have a 1956 video of the Titusville July 4th Parade and Water Show thanks to Pat Brundage.
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. Thanks to Furman Hendrickson for sharing this.
It’s been another busy year for the site, which has been operating since August 2019. Thanks again to the contributors who have provided information and materials to help illuminate the history of our Hopewell Valley. Please do contact us if you have – or know of – other images and materials that we can share, to preserve this history before they could be lost..
History Project Yearly Highlights
Yearly highlights for the History Project, including presentations (and videos), Hopewell History Brief research reports, the Document Archives, and Pamphlet Collection, and Property Reports Collection, the Map Archives and Panoramic Aerials, the Image Gallery and Panoramas Collection, the YouTube Video Channel, and the Hopewell Valley History Map.
List of key History Project Presentations (marked by “#”), History Briefs, and other major focuses:
- 2025 Highlights – #Ferrante Dress Factory, Pete Hurley, Hopewell Schools
- 2024 Highlights – #St. Michaels Orphanage, #Smith / Rockwell / “Hopewell 57”
- 2023 Highlights – #Hopewell Inn, #Hopewell Quarry, 2022 Edition Book
- 2022 Highlights – #History Online: Seminary Ave., #Growth of Hopewell, #Hoproco Toys, Pennington Profile book
- 2021 Highlights – #Industrial Railroad Place, #Train Stations, Chocolate Factory, Tomato Factory, Chubby’s
- 2020 Highlights – #Using the History Project, History Map, Panoramic Aerials, History Briefs, Pamphlet Collection
- 2019 Highlights – #History Project, Site, Blog, Image Gallery, Facebook
For more details, see the full list of History Project Site Updates.
