In November 2025, the construction work on the exterior of the new Hopewell Inn building was nearly complete (at Broad Street and Seminary Avenue in Hopewell Borough), and the focus was shifting to finishing the interior. But first, it was a good time to replace the old driveway and parking area behind the building and on the Seminary Avenue side. (See earlier post with a visual chronology of Hopewell Inn Construction Updates.)
However, stripping the old asphalt and grading on the site exposed two blocks that were covering what were apparently old circular stone cisterns. The covers were metal, and the holes were approximately 8 feet in diameter and 8 feet deep. The walls of the shafts were constructed from stone, with shale on the bottom. There was a clay pipe (visible in the photos) running between the two shafts, and metal pipes presumably to access the water.
This south area of the site behind the building had been a garden (and a weekend beer garden) when it was Gebhart’s Hotel in the 1930s and 1940s, in the era of the Lindbergh kidnapping craze. (See earlier post on the history of the Hopewell Inn / Central Hotel.) So perhaps these were cisterns that were installed to collect run-off rainfall, and then simply covered over later when the parking lot was constructed and paved.
Joseph Mutinsky, Hopewell Inn project construction manager for Sherute, LLC, suggests that these cisterns were dug back when there was a need for an additional non-well / drinking water source for such things as watering a garden and its crops, boiling water to use for washing clothes, and for washing exterior features and other materials. These cisterns were probably hand dug and used field stone/shale to line the walls. Because the fractured shale in this area started about 4 feet below the surface and extended well below 15 feet, the fractured shale may have been in the ground water table. In the spring during the rains, these cisterns would probably fill up at least half way, and the owners may have used hand pumps to raise the water out of the cisterns. This may explain the lead pipes visible in the photos, and the clay pipe connection between the two cisterns, since there may only have been one hand pump to extract the water. So these cisterns could go back to the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, and probably were a great source of water for the beer garden plants, herbs, and vegetables.
Photo Tour
Unfortunately, these days it is no longer acceptable practice to have holes in the middle of parking lots, so these shafts at the Hopewell Inn needed to be immediately filled in and capped. We were able to preserve some photos of the scene and the shafts, as shown below.
- The first two photos show the marked metal covers of the cisterns as first discovered, located along the back (south) edge of the property, with the view facing west (i.e., as you enter the driveway from Seminary Avenue).
- The next three photos provide more detailed views down the shafts, including the stone construction of the walls, the clay pipe that apparently connected them, and other metal pipes presumably for extracting the water.
- The final two photos, again facing west, show the construction equipment and the scene when the holes were being closed up. Behind are the brick back of the Hopewell Public Library and the spire of the Hopewell Calvary Baptist Church.
Water and Cisterns in Hopewell
While we do not have documentation or references to cisterns at the Hopewell Inn, many local home and farms in the area used cisterns to collect rainwater for uses including cleaning and laundry. Some of these stone cisterns can still be found in the cellars of local homes. The towns, including Hopewell and Pennington, also had cisterns as part of their public water systems to retain and stage the local water supply.
Hopewell’s water company, for example, was formed in 1890 by local business people who saw the need for reliable water for health, firefighting, and business, and then was taken over by the borough in 1907.
By 1893, the Hopewell Inn (then Cray’s Hotel) was reported to have a “wash-pave” (external connection to a water supply) that was used to hook up a hose to help fight the major Behre’s Hall fire. (Reaching down Broad Street to Greenwood Avenue, at the current location of the Pharmacy building that replaced it – see earlier post on the Hopewell Drug Store Businesses).
Meanwhile, cisterns in homes can be dangerous, as reported in the 1918 Hopewell Herald newspaper in 1918:
Mrs. Henry Foster, aged 66 years, of Marshall’s Corner, who is convalescing from an attack of the grip, while walking from another room in the house to the kitchen on Monday last, stepped upon a trap door over a cistern, which tipped up and she fell in, her arms catching on each side which kept her from immediately going to the bottom. She remained in that position for about twenty minutes, calling for help, when her strength gave out and she slipped through the opening to the water below. She remained in the water, which was up to her shoulders, for about an hour before anyone heard her cries for help and went to her rescue. With the assistance of neighbors she was raised from the cistern when it was discovered that one shoulder was badly bruised. She also had a chill and is suffering from shock. Whether her unfortunate mishap will result in anything more serious is not yet known. Thus far she seems to be getting along nicely. [Hopewell Herald, 9/11/1918]
Thanks to Joseph Mutinsky for information and photos. Joe also kindly preserved and shared some sample stones from the shafts.
Meanwhile, construction is moving along at the site. The top two residential floors are nearly complete, with work now focusing on the restaurant on the first floor, looking to completion in June.
Thanks also to Percy Keith for reporting and filming this discovery.
Please contact us if you have information on this discovery, or related local items.
More on the Hopewell Inn – 15 East Broad
The Hopewell Valley Bistro & Inn building at 15 East Broad Street on the corner of Seminary Avenue was demolished in July 2022. Long known as the Central Hotel, the building had a nearly 150 year history as a residential home and store, bar and restaurant, and lodging and apartments.
Hopewell Inn History
- Post – The Hopewell Inn / Central Hotel – Summary of the property’s history
- Full History Brief – 15 East Broad Street, Hopewell – Hopewell Inn (c1878) (PDF)
Presentation
- Presentation video and references – The Story of the Hopewell Inn – Video and References
Hopewell Inn Information
- Post – Historical Cisterns Found at the Hopewell Inn
- Post – Seeing What’s Different – Changes to the Hopewell Inn – 4 phases in the building’s design
- Post – Hopewell Images During the Lindbergh Kidnapping (1932) – Exterior photos
- Post – Inside the Hopewell Inn – 1932 – Photos of the interior
Hopewell Inn Tours – 2022
- Post – Hopewell Inn Tours – Panoramas, Videos, Photos
- Tour Panoramas – Browse 180- and 360-degree Pans in Panorama Collection
- Tour Videos – Video walkthroughs of the first, second, and third floors (YouTube)
- Tour Image Gallery – 130 images of a photo walkthrough of the entire building
Hopewell Inn Memorabilia
- Post – Hopewell Inn Memorabilia – Building and artifacts
- Photos – Memorabilia Image Gallery – Hopewell Inn Memorabilia album
Hopewell Inn Media
- Video – 1975 Video at the Hopewell Inn Bar – Clip of patrons at the bar
- Photos – Hopewell Inn photos (15 East Broad) in the Image Gallery
- History Map – 15 East Broad – Town map and historical images
Hopewell Inn Construction – 2023-2026
- Post – Hopewell Inn Construction Updates – Chronology
- Construction Image Gallery – Hopewell Inn Construction album
Hopewell Inn Demolition – July 2022
- Post – Hopewell Inn Demolition Updates – Photos and Videos
- Demolition Image Gallery – Hopewell Inn Demolition album
- Demolition Videos – Hopewell Inn Demolition Videos (YouTube)
