The February updates to the History Project featured both past and future publications, including historical Pennington Presbyterian Church anniversary booklets and local Hopewell restaurant menus as a piece of future history. Other examples of local history include postcards of local rock formations from the early 1900s and typography projects from local school work around 1920. (See Site Updates for more.)
By the numbers, we finished the month with 320 files in the Archives, including 158 documents and 162 maps and aerials. The Image Gallery now has 4095 files, and the Panoramas Collection has 50 images. The Pamphlet Collection has 261 documents, and the Property Reports Collection has 88 documents. The interactive History Map includes 775 addresses with 102 historic places in Hopewell Borough. The History Project YouTube Channel is hosting 29 videos, plus 18 external local history videos, including 7 videos of History Project presentations. Please keep the materials coming!
Pennington Presbyterian Church Anniversary Booklets
We have two wonderful Anniversary booklets for the First Presbyterian Church of Pennington that detail its history: the 225th Anniversary from 1934, and the 250th Anniversary from 1959, with provide extensive histories of the Church and its buildings, biographies of its pastors, its activities, and lists of officers back to the 1700s.
Plus we have the “Pennington’s Heritage” Historical Pageant booklet for the Pennington Sesquibicentennial (250th) Celebration (1708-1958).
Hopewell Rocks
Here are a selection of postcards of local rock formations, many created by George E. Pierson for sale at his drugstore in downtown Hopewell. Some like Three Brothers Rocks are still familiar, only a couple of miles north of Hopewell. Others like Cradle Rock, Shell Rock, and Balance Rock are no longer familiar or accessible. And others like Palisades Rocks are not local at all.
Learning Your Letters – School Signs
Here are two student typography projects done in 1919 and 1920, including a poster for a game between Princeton High School and Hopewell High School. We assume these are from a Mechanical Drawing class offered at that time.
History on the Menu – Future History
Here are examples of menus from local Hopewell Borough businesses. After all, while the History Project is focused on collecting and sharing materials from Hopewell’s past, there’s also the future history to think of – preserving the history of our own time for the next generations.
So these local menus provide a great snapshot of our time and place. They bring back memories of good times and favorite meals. And from a historic view, they show how culinary trends (and prices) have evolved over time.
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.
