The Calvary Baptist Church of Hopewell has been located at the center of town since 1872, through several redesigns of the facade and multiple additions, as shown below.
The church continues to serve the community in quiet ways. It has hosted a live outdoor Living Nativity scene for the Christmas season since 1957. It opens the sanctuary for local meetings and events (especially jazz concerts!), organizes blood drives, and holds a Blue Christmas service of remembrance and hope.
It offered a free BBQ for Cruise Night, holds community breakfasts, and runs “Heat & Eat” soup and pierogi sales (and for the “Souper Bowl”). It was an early supporter of the Chubby’s Project, sharing its kitchen for food prep and hosting benefit concerts.
And the church still runs the last rummage sale in town – plus a thrift shop and holiday bazaar – to help reuse and recycle goods and clothing.
Hopewell Holiday Open House – Saturday, December 12 from 1 to 4 pm
The Calvary Baptist Church will be part of the annual Hopewell Holiday Open House event, which also includes the Hopewell Public Library, the Hopewell Old School Baptist Meetinghouse, and the re-opening of the Hopewell Museum. There also will be a model train layout of the Hopewell train station – on display at the train station (of course). It’s a day to explore these historic sites and enjoy activities and refreshments.
Church History and Building
The Calvary Baptist Church of Hopewell was built in 1872 at 3 East Broad Street near North Greenwood Avenue, with later additions to the back and side. It was an offshoot of the original Old School Baptist Church, and was the second church built in the town.
A rear addition was added in 1923, and the Education Wing set back on the right was built in 1963. The associated two-story parsonage building on the corner of Greenwood Avenue at 1 East Broad was rebuilt in 1894 after a fire.
The image shows the church building on East Broad Street, with the parsonage building to the right, from a 1966 pamphlet for the church’s 95th Anniversary.
The main church building is two stories, with the sanctuary above and a high basement room below that is only partially underground. The main front entrance leads to an entranceway with stairs on both sides up to the sanctuary, or stairs ahead down to the basement room.
Frame church structure with rectangular plan built in 1872. Building has high basement with stuccoed stone walls, lit by 4 8/8 arch-topped windows on the east and west sides. Nave above lit by 3 large, vertical 12/12 windows on the east and west sides, the upper sash and surround of these windows are sequentially arched in the same manner as those in the basement. The 3 bay front facade exhibits an entry topped by a small window in the central bay with the long, arch-topped 12/12 windows flanking each side. The building is topped by a gable roof with its ridge running perpendicular to the street. The present portico was added to the building after 1927; it is a projecting, pedimented Roman Doric tetrastyle portico sitting upon a shallow concrete plinth. [Hopewell Cultural Resource Survey, 1984]
- View full History Brief: Calvary Baptist Church (1871) (PDF)
1700s – First Baptist Church of Hopewell (Old School Baptist)
The Calvary Baptist Church was an offshoot from the original Hopewell Church, the then First Baptist Church of Hopewell, now known as the Old School Baptist Meetinghouse, at 46 West Broad Street near Mercer Street.
The Hopewell First Baptist Church was organized in 1715, built the original church building in 1747, and then rebuilt the current building in 1822.
However, in the early 1800s there were theological splits in Baptist congregations over issues including foreign missions, sunday schools, and colleges and seminaries. The Hopewell First Baptist Church rejected these trends in the 1830s, and for the next 40 years Hopewell was without a Baptist Church holding the views of the regular Baptists. The Hopewell Calvary Baptist Church then was organized in 1871 to fulfill these needs.
1871 – Hopewell Calvary Baptist Church
The Hopewell Calvary Baptist Church was organized in 1871 and began services in various local halls, including evening services at the then public school building at 75 West Broad Street. The original church building was built in 1872, and a Sunday school was started. The church was organized with six founding members, and had 55 members in 1872, and over 100 in 1885.
The adjacent parsonage building then was built in 1876 for the pastor and family at 1 East Broad Street, on the corner of North Greenwood Avenue. The parsonage was destroyed in the Behre’s Hall fire in 1893, and replaced by the current building in 1894.
In 1895, the church made extensive renovations to the sanctuary, including adding the distinctive chestnut wood panel ceiling.
The images show side views of the flat front of the building from each direction on Broad Street, with a street level entrance at the center, at the basement level. The parsonage also is visible to the right side of the church.
1900s – Outside Entrance Steps & Porch, Back Addition
As trolley service arrived in Hopewell in 1903 Broad Street was regraded and raised so the original church entrance was then in a pit. In 1909 the building entrance was modified to add outside steps directly up to the sanctuary level, with a roofed porch to provide shelter from the weather.
In 1923, an addition to the rear of the main church added multiple rooms including Sunday school rooms, a kitchen, bathrooms, and furnace rooms.
The images show the new entrance with stairs up to the sanctuary and sheltered porch. The 1947 image shows the rear addition projecting on both sides.
1950s – Columned Portico, Education Wing
A new church entrance was needed after a fire in 1946 damaged the church narthex. A new entrance portico was built in 1951, adding the current front facade with columns and interior stairs. This replaced the outside stairs and the second floor level porch entrance. The work also included replacing the original stained glass windows, removing the original side chimneys, providing new lighting, and painting the walls.
The two-story Christian Education wing on the right and extending back was added in 1963, with offices and classrooms.
In 1975, the original church steeple was removed due to deterioration. The church then remained without a steeple until funding could be found.
The images show the new front entrance portico with columns. The left 1952 image shows the 1923 rear addition, and the right 2020 image shows the full Christian Education wing.
1990s – New Steeple & Weathervane
The current new steeple then was added in 1993, including the rooster weathervane and the bell that had been placed under the portico roof when the old steeple was torn down.
In 2001, the rooster weathervane on the steeple was found to require repairs and strengthening to operate smoothly. The work was done by T. Johnson Design (see earlier post).
The images show the new church steeple. The right image shows the repaired rooster weathervane, which also was gilded for better visibility.
(rear addition on left) [Labaw]
The images show the new church steeple. The right image shows the repaired rooster weathervane, which also was gilded for better visibility.
- View full History Brief: Calvary Baptist Church (1871) (PDF)
- Thanks to the Hopewell Calvary Baptist Church for sharing past anniversary brochures with church history (see Pamphlet Collection).
Please contact us if you have additional information or materials that you can share on the Calvary Baptist Church or other Hopewell Valley Historic Sites.
