Hopewell Valley History Project
Preserving Our History
This wonderful view down Railroad Place in Hopewell seems so familiar – with the Chocolate Factory and then J. B. Hill & Sons to the right and the Tomato Factory at the end of the street. But this photo actually captures a long-lost streetscape, including two buildings that were destroyed by arson, and the railroad … Continue reading Hopewell 1965 and Railroad Place
The Soupe du Jour restaurant was a beloved Hopewell fixture for 35 years. It was founded at the Tomato Factory Antiques Center in 1972 by Valerie Hartshorne and Frad Young, and moved the following year to 10 East Broad Street at Blackwell Avenue. Patty Phillips then took over the business from 1980 to 2007. The … Continue reading Remembering Soupe du Jour
To echo the fun of the recent Hopewell Valley celebrations for Memorial Day and July 4th, here are a selection of photos of Hopewell Memorial Day parades from 1961 to 1978. These show the crowds and marchers and buildings on various streets along the parade route. (Note the dates are approximate.) These are from a … Continue reading Hopewell Memorial Day Parades – 1960s & 70s
The July updates on the Hopewell Valley History Project site wrapped up the coverage of Industrial Hopewell: Railroad Place with the online webinar presentation and posting of the presentation slides. This was followed by some fun local history of Hopewell Borough. By the numbers, we finished the month with 228 files in the Archives, including … Continue reading June 2021 Update – Welcome to Hopewell
It’s The Game of Hopewell! This Monopoly-like board game is from the 1985 Hopewell Community Day, and features Hopewell Borough institutions and businesses on the spaces around the edge of the board. You start at the Elementary School corner, and then the other corners have the Borough Hall & Fire House (Tax!) and the Mini … Continue reading The Game of Hopewell
This wonderful image taken at the Hopewell train station in 1881, and provided courtesy of Steven Cohen, illustrates the importance of the arrival of the railroad in the 1870s to the villages of Hopewell and Pennington. This is from a promotional poster created by Reuben Savidge, who ran the general store in Mount Rose and … Continue reading Hopewell Train Station in 1881
The May updates on the Hopewell Valley History Project site supported Hopewell Valley Heritage Week in the Valley, and continued to focus on Railroad Place in Hopewell Borough for the Industrial Hopewell walking tours and the upcoming online virtual tour of Railroad Place. By the numbers, we finished the month with 225 files in the … Continue reading May 2021 Update – Industrial Hopewell
A now-historic ice cream scoop has been returned to the Rose and Chubby’s building by Bob Witkowski (aka Mr. Haircut) and Sal Torre. The scoop goes back to the 1950s, when it was used at the store that was then owned by Jimmy and Marie Hall. Jimmy also loaned the scoop to the American Legion … Continue reading Hot Scoop at Chubby’s
As a follow-up to the earlier story of the history of the Aunt Chubby’s Luncheonette building in Hopewell (the corner store at North Greenwood and Railroad Place), we have two menus kindly provided by the Aunt Chubby’s family – one from when the store was known as Chubby’s Luncheonette (around 1991 to 2012), and another … Continue reading Historic Chubby’s Lunch Menus
Next week, May 22 – 31, 2021, is Hopewell Valley Heritage Week, celebrating the rich heritage of the Hopewell Valley with a full week of events, some virtual and others outdoors. This year’s theme is Trains, Planes & Automobiles – American Indian to Modern Day Transportation in Hopewell Valley. And to celebrate we have two … Continue reading Historical Slide Shows for Heritage Week
