The August 2024 updates to the History Project include the video of the “Hopewell 57” / Rockwell talk, a major update of property information to the Hopewell History Map, 1950s memories of Pennington, and more. (See Site Updates for more.)
By the numbers, we finished the month with 331 files in the Archives, including 168 documents and 163 maps and aerials. The Image Gallery now has 4256 files, and the Panoramas Collection has 50 images. The Pamphlet Collection has 316 documents, and the Property Reports Collection has 101 documents. The interactive History Map includes 775 addresses with 103 historic places in Hopewell Borough. The History Project YouTube Channel is hosting 34 videos, plus 22 external local history videos, including 9 videos of History Project presentations. Please keep the materials coming!
Talk: Smith to Rockwell to “Hopewell 57”
This presentation video explores the history of “Hopewell 57” – the big brick building complex at the corner of Hamilton Avenue and Somerset Street in Hopewell Borough, that was earlier known as Rockwell and then Kooltronic.
That block along Hamilton actually has an agglomeration of buildings that developed over time as part of a quintessential Hopewell story – as an individual entrepreneur worked with the town to create a business that expanded to provide 75 years of good jobs for locals, eventually employing over 200 people.
This talk chronicles this local saga, starting in 1900 with a group of town boosters who invested in the town to attract new business, and with Hugh A. Smith, who chose Hopewell to pursue his dream of establishing a manufacturing business. It then traces the evolution of the small Smith company into Rockwell, and the associated development of the building complex along Hamilton Avenue.
New Property Info in the Hopewell History Map
The interactive Hopewell History Map has been updated to display over 100 new property information summaries as you click to view local addresses. Click for associated research documents, including History Brief and Site Survey reports.
The History Map brings together other materials from the History Project site, displaying over 1700 photos of local properties from the Image Gallery, and providing links to now some 100 detailed History Briefs and research reports on local properties.
Hopewell Grammar School Annex – Jewelry, Guitars, and Metalwork
The Hopewell Grammar School Annex building next to the former lumberyard on Model Avenue has had both business and residential occupants, but was used mainly for a variety of industrial purposes – including jewelry manufacturing, independent invention, serial entrepreneurs, guitar making, and metalwork
The Annex building was built in 1915 to provide additional space for the long building on the right side, which was originally built as the Hopewell Grammar School in 1888 (with two later additions on each side).
After the Grammar School moved to Princeton Avenue in 1926, the building was used for jewelry businesses including the Hopewell Jewelry Factory and Jacques Kreisler Corp. In 1949 it was purchased by George F. Bush as a laboratory for designing scientific instruments.
In 1978, the Annex was purchased by Richard Hargrave and George Vaughn and used for various associated companies, including the the LoPrinzi Guitar Company. In 2011, T. Johnson Design purchased the property to design and fabricate custom metalwork.
1950s Memories of Pennington
Mike Thomsen has kindly contributed some 75 photographs of Pennington from around 1958, up to when he completed high school. These include scenes of the buildings and businesses along Main Street and Delaware Avenue, views of the train station and other area bridges, and fun views of the local schools, Memorial Day parades, family, and Pennington in the snow.
Thomsen also contributed a companion book that features descriptions of many of these photos. The 64-page book, “Pop,” Sam and the Chief: Memories of Pennington N.J. at Mid-Twentieth Century, provides a visual tour of Pennington in the 1950s, with the memories of this local kid who went through the schools from 1946 to 1959.
Pennington Players Programs – 1958-1966
Here are seven Pennington Players programs from 1958 through 1966, plus one more from the Prevue Players from 1958. The selected plays and musicals are not familiar names for today’s audiences.
These are wonderful historical records of these performing groups, of course, plus they provides the names of local people in the production staff and the patrons, and include advertisements for a wide range of local businesses, including from Pennington, Hopewell, Princeton, and Trenton.
1932 N. J. Driver’s Test Brochure
This small brochure from around 1932 – “Questions and Answers Upon the Motor Vehicle Laws” – can help you you pass the written test for a New Jersey driver’s license from ninety-some years.
It has 120 questions – and answers – including the driving laws and rules, plus the penalties for breaking them. The basic driving and licensing rules from 1932 still are relatively familiar. Many of the rules detail various infractions, and list the associated fines and penalties, including loss of license and incarceration.
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.
