Railroad Place Historic Walking Tour – 1876-2026
Sat., Sept. 12, 2026 – 11 am and 2 pm
Choose from two one-hour walking tours by Douglas Dixon exploring the historic buildings and industrial development of Railroad Place in Hopewell Borough.
Registration Required – Space is Limited – Register Here
The arrival of the railroad, and the construction of the Hopewell train station in 1876, spurred the growth of the small village into a full-fledged town where people wanted to live and work and grow. This heritage is still visible today in the streetscapes that we think of as the historical look of Hopewell.
In this tour, Doug Dixon explores how local boosters also saw a greater opportunity along Railroad Place to develop an industrial district that supported larger-scale manufacturing and could provide good jobs and stronger growth.
These efforts resulted in the Chocolate Factory (manufacturing bon-bons for 25 years), the Tomato Factory (canning tomatoes for 55 years), J. B. Hill’s (coal and then lumber for over a century), and Rockwell Manufacturing (back to Smith Novelty in the early 1900s.
Doug Dixon is an independent technology consultant and writer, now morphed into a local historian. He is a board member of the Hopewell Museum and the Hopewell Valley Historical Society.
Doug also created and runs the all-volunteer Hopewell Valley History Project, working with locals to collect and digitize and freely share our local history online (HopewellHistoryProject.org).
Historic Railroad Place Walking Tour – 1876-2026
Sat., Sept. 12, 2026 – 11 am and 2 pm
Registration Required – Space is Limited – Register Here
Choose from two one-hour tours of Railroad Place on Sat., Sept. 12 at 11 am and 2 pm. There is no cost – but places are limited, so registration is required.
This event is part of Hopewell Valley Heritage Week, Sept. 12 – 20, 2026, celebrating the rich heritage of the Hopewell Valley with a full week of events.
Photo: View of the Hopewell train station from the railroad bridge, 1955, courtesy of Roger Labaw. Train Station is in the center right, with the Freight House, Farmer’s Co-op Assoc., and Tomato Factory smokestack beyond down the tracks. A box car sits on the siding to the right of the station, with the Chocolate Factory across the street. The Passenger Shelter is on the left across the tracks, with railroad buildings beyond down the tracks.
More Information
- See Industrial Hopewell: Railroad Place for links to the earlier presentation, handouts, and associated briefs for the individual properties.
- See the associated slide show: Industrial Hopewell – Railroad Place – Then & Now
(Use the playback controls to Pause, Play, or step to Previous/Next at any time)
