Hopewell Elementary School Centennial

Hopewell Elementary School, from Prospect St., 2020 (North addition to right) [DD]

The Hopewell Elementary School at 35 Princeton Avenue is celebrating its centennial in 2026, one hundred years after it opened in 1926 as the Hopewell Grammar School.

The Grammar School originally held classes for kindergarten through 8th grade, but has changed over the years with the introduction of a separate middle school between elementary school and high school.

After the regionalization of the Hopewell Valley Regional School District in 1965 and the construction of the Timberlane Middle School, Hopewell Elementary changed to grades K to 6. The construction of the North addition in 1968, a one-story extension along Prospect Street, added 15 classrooms for kindergarten and younger grades.

Hopewell Elementary – North addition from Princeton Ave., 2020 [DD]

In 1993, the school changed to grades K to 5, and then saw the second major expansion in 1997 with the South addition, a multi-story complex by the playground with classrooms, gymnasium, and cafeteria / auditorium.

The Elementary School property has been used for a variety of community activities over the past hundred years, including baseball fields, fireworks, Memorial Day observances, and the Hopewell Harvest Fair.

The Elementary School mascot, “Freddy” the Frog, was selected by a competition in 1979. It recalls the infamous 1876 “Frog War,” when two competing rail lines fought to control a railroad crossing (the “frog”) just west of Hopewell Borough. (The mascot has been variously spelled “Freddy” or “Freddie” over the years, but the kids voted on the spelling on Election Day 2025, and the name now is officially “Freddy.”)

== Read the Hopewell Elementary School Summary Brief (PDF) ==

1926 – Hopewell Grammar School Opens

Hopewell Grammar School – 1926 [Dedication]

The then Hopewell Grammar School opened in 1926 at 35 Princeton Avenue. It replaced the previous Grammar School (also known as the Lincoln School) which was built in 1888 at 12-14 Model Avenue, and later was expanded on each side, followed by the construction in 1915 of the separate Annex building at 20 Model Avenue.

The opening was celebrated with Dedicatory Exercises and Public Inspection of the Hopewell Grammar School on June 2, 1926. The ceremony included four sets of musical performances and an address by “His Excellency, A. Harry Moore, the Governor of the State of New Jersey.” The 9-page Dedicatory Exercises program booklet (PDF) also includes a historical review of Hopewell public schools back to 1740, with photographs.

Hopewell Elementary view from Mt. Rose, 1932 [JCD]

The school was designed by Trenton architect J. Osborne Hunt of Trenton. The original portion of the building fronts Princeton Avenue: a two-story brick structure with 14 rooms, with a basement, short wings on each side, and the original gym tucked behind.

The building was listed for bids in the Philadelphia Real Estate Record and Builders’ Guide in 1924: “Brick, structural steel, 2 stories, 172×78 feet, built-up roof, hardwood [maple] floors, hollow tile, safety treads, metal ceilings, dampproofing, ornamental iron work, iron stairs, bond, metal lath (heating, plumbing and electric work separate).”

The contact for $97,128 was awarded to to Griffith & Watkins, Trenton, with heating and plumbing to Trenton Plumbing & Heating Co., and electric awarded to Carr & Schultz, Trenton.”

The building was listed as having an eight acre site (i.e., for the original building). The property now extends some 35 acres: from Princeton Avenue west to the end of East Prospect Street at the edge of Hopewell Borough (Gazebo) Park and the Beden Brook, and from East Prospect Street south along Princeton Avenue, across the Borough line, and to the end of the run of commercial buildings on the right as you exit the town.

1926 – 1966 – Class Plaques – K – 8th

The names of the members of each graduating class of the Hopewell Elementary School from 1926 to 1966 are memorialized on 41 wooden class plaques that hang along the front corridor of the Hopewell Elementary School.

The plaques begin in 1926 when the school was built, and end after 1966 when the school changed to kindergarten to 6th grade (no longer continuing through 8th grade).

During the period from 1926 to 1966, the school graduated some 15 to 30 students per year; in 1941, for example, there were 234 students enrolled.

There also is a School Principals plaque with the names of the principals since 1926, which has continued to be updated up to the current principal, Scott Brettell. The first name, Bertha I. Scott was the principal of the Hopewell Grammar School for 26 years, from 1916 through 1942. She started at the Model Avenue location, and then become the first principal of the new school after the move to Princeton Avenue in 1926.

1968 – North Addition – East Prospect Street – K – 6th

Hopewell Elementary School aerial, 1974 – North addition (top, along East Prospect Street) [REL]

The Hopewell Elementary School was originally built in 1926 for kindergarten through 8th grade, and run by a Hopewell Borough School Board. At that time, area high school students then went to the Hopewell High School building on Columbia Avenue (now the Firehouse).

In a referendum in 1929, voters chose to build a new Pennington Central High School, instead of renovating and expanding the existing building in Hopewell. Hopewell Borough then chose to send their students to Princeton High School instead.

This situation ended in 1965, when local voters authorized regionalization of the schools and the formation of the Hopewell Valley Regional School District. The Timberlane Middle School was constructed in 1966, and Hopewell Elementary changed to house grades K to 6.

Hopewell Elementary North Addition: Architect’s plans [TET 10/26/1967]

But more classrooms were still needed, which led in 1968 to the construction of the North addition to the Elementary School. This was a one-story extension along East Prospect Street towards Seminary Avenue, with 15 classrooms for kindergarten and younger grades on each side of the central corridor.

Additional renovations from the $520,252 construction project included a new heating and ventilation system, a new cafeteria and library, and updating the gymnasium (nestled behind the main building) as an auditorium with new lighting and fixtures. The project also included the purchase of 16.5 acres for possible future expansion south of the original school and playground, at an estimated cost of $2,500 an acre.

Eckert & Gatarz were the Architects for the 1968 North addition. (Browse the const r uction plaques for the two additions.)

1997 – South Addition – Playground – K to 5th

Hopewell Elementary School aerial 2020 – South addition (left by playground) [DD]

By 1993, parents were deeply frustrated by conditions at Hopewell Elementary School. A district report described conditions as “substandard” and “disgraceful.” The facility was out of room, using substandard basement rooms for music and gym, and temporary trailers for basic skills and gifted and talented classes. It also needed a new gymnasium and media center. But several referendums for the elementary school improvements had been rejected by voters.

Starting in 1993, the School Board began proposing plans for major upgrades across the Hopewell Valley schools, especially due to the expected influx of additional students from the 1200-unit Brandon Farms development, which also would require the construction of a new elementary school.

The key element of the plan was expanding the Timberlane Middle School from 360 students in 7th and 8th grade to 1000 students from 6th to 8th grade. The elementary schools would then change to K to 5th grade. After two failed referendum votes in 1994, Hopewell Valley voters did approve a $22.5 million bond issue in early 1995.

In 1997, Hopewell Elementary then added the South addition to expand the capacity from 350 to more than 500 students. It was built in brick similar to the original building, with multiple sections of one and two stories as the ground drops away along the playground area. The addition includes classrooms, plus larger spaces for a gymnasium and cafeteria / auditorium.

In addition, the $5 million expansion included renovations to change the existing gymnasium/multipurpose room (behind the original building) to become the media center, the old media center (along the front of the original building) into administrative office space, and the basement space (the former cafeteria) for storage and faculty use.

Faridy Thorne Fraytak, P.C. were the Architects / Planners for the 1997 North addition, Bovis were the Construction Managers, and Dandrea Construction Co., Inc. was the General Contractor. (Browse the construction plaques for the two additions.)

Community Site

The Elementary School property has been used for a variety of community activities over the past hundred years, including baseball fields (with stands), the location for town fireworks.

It also has been the site of the Hopewell Harvest Fair since 1989.

Memorial Day Veterans Exercises, 1946-47 [RMA]

The school also has been important part of Hopewell Memorial Day parades. The parade route included a stop in front of the Elementary School for observances by veterans, with “exercises, prayers, and salutes.”

The honor salute included the color guard, firing squad, and military personnel in uniform. (See post for 1940s videos.)

Legion Monument at Elementary School (1925)

The school was a honors site because of the granite American Legion memorial monument in front of the building near the sidewalk. The monument features a large bronze winged eagle on top, and was erected in 1925 by the American Legion Hopewell Post 273 to honor local veterans.

The monument originally was installed in the middle of the intersection at Broad Street and Greenwood Avenue, but then was moved to its present location in 1933 (after too many traffic accidents with cars impacting the large stone barrier in the middle of the road).

== Read the Hopewell Elementary School Summary Brief (PDF) ==

Elementary School Yearbooks – 1997 to 2025

Thanks especially to the staff of the Hopewell Elementary School for assistance with the plaques and the school.

See below for other school information in the History Project, including histories, names and mascots, and copies of yearbooks, graduation programs, and other materials.

Please contact us if you have photos, documents, or other materials to share on the history of the Hopewell Valley schools.