Hopewell Valley History Project
Preserving Our History
Trade cards provide fascinating views of local Hopewell businesses in the late 1800s. These cards with their colorful artwork were a popular method of promotion to clients and customers. And they are helpful historical artifacts for us, as they provide information including the owner’s name, descriptions of the business, and listings of important products. Thanks … Continue reading 1880s Hopewell Trade Cards
These paintings were done using a mouthstick by Pete Hurley, a Hopewell resident who contracted polio in 1952, and was paralyzed below his neck, losing the use of his arms and legs. The community of Hopewell responded deeply, volunteering and raising money to help support the family – wife Betty and three young children – … Continue reading Pete Hurley Mouth Paintings
For another glimpse of long-gone school days, this is the April 1941 issue of the Hopewell Elementary School student paper, The Keyhole, kindly shared by the Kolbert family (see earlier post). It is fourteen typewritten pages with illustrations by Eleanora McAlinden, including news for what each grade was doing, personal updates on some of the … Continue reading 1941 Hopewell Elementary School Newspaper
As the United States geared up to enter World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, businesses were ordered to end non-essential production, and therefore began to search for new contracts to contribute to the war effort. In Hopewell, for example, the H. A. Smith Machine Company (later Rockwell) manufactured … Continue reading Building World War II Avenger Torpedo Bombers at Mercer Airport
The September 2024 updates to the History Project include T. Johnson Design metal works around Hopewell, Smith Novelty local business invoices c1910, 1932 Lindbergh scenes of Hopewell, and the 2024 Hopewell Harvest Fair. (See Site Updates for more.) By the numbers, we finished the month with 331 files in the Archives, including 168 documents and … Continue reading September 2024 Update – T. Johnson Designs, c1900 Invoices
T. Johnson Design has been operating in Hopewell Borough since 1994, creating custom metalwork designs that combine practical functionality with design aesthetics. They design for private and municipal clients throughout the region, but a number of their works are visible as iconic and familiar installations around Hopewell, as shown here. Some of these works are … Continue reading T. Johnson Design – Metalwork in Hopewell
