Hopewell Valley History Project
Preserving Our History
by Douglas Dixon Here are some highlights of the 2024 additions to the History Project site, with links to more information, plus associated documents, maps, photos, and videos. The purpose of the Hopewell Valley History Project is assemble an archive of reference material in local history, freely shared online in digital and searchable formats for … Continue reading Hopewell History Project – 2024 Highlights
Jim Davidson’s Lindbergh presentation is this Thursday, September 26, 2024: “Hopewell was like a Roman Circus: Hopewell, the Sourlands and the Lindbergh Kidnapping.” Attend in person at the Hopewell Presbyterian Church, or join the online virtual presentation via Zoom. The event starts at ## 8 pm ## (doors open at 7:30 pm).Click for more information … Continue reading 1932 Lindbergh Hopewell Scenes
The interactive Hopewell History Map has been updated to display over 100 new property information summaries as you click to view local addresses. It brings together other materials from the History Project site, displaying over 1700 photos of local properties from the Image Gallery, and providing links to now some 100 detailed History Briefs and … Continue reading New Property Info in the Hopewell History Map
So what changed in the Hopewell Valley landscape in the 1960s? One answer comes from comparing these 1962 and 1972 Hopewell Township road maps that continue the story of the development of the Hopewell Valley road network (see links below). Much of the Valley is still shown as open land, but these maps also show … Continue reading Hopewell Valley Changes – 1962 & 1972 Road Maps
The April updates to the History Project featured information on Pennington Bicentennial quilts, and new research on St. Michael’s Orphanage. (See Site Updates for more.) By the numbers, we finished the month with 322 files in the Archives, including 160 documents and 162 maps and aerials. The Image Gallery now has 4145 files, and the … Continue reading April 2024 Update – Bicentennial Quilts
The March updates to the History Project featured a new History Brief report on the Hopewell theaters on 5 South Greenwood Avenue in the Borough, photos of local train stations and of the recent COVID shutdown in Pennington, and booklets from the Pennington Fire Company 125th anniversary and the Hopewell Township Police Department 25th anniversary. … Continue reading March 2024 Update – Hopewell Theaters
The February updates to the History Project featured both past and future publications, including historical Pennington Presbyterian Church anniversary booklets and local Hopewell restaurant menus as a piece of future history. Other examples of local history include postcards of local rock formations from the early 1900s and typography projects from local school work around 1920. … Continue reading February 2024 Update – Past and Current Booklets
The January updates to the History Project featured information on automobile travel in the early 1900s – maps, travel guides, and cars – plus a video of the 1984 Pennington Memorial Day parade. (See Site Updates for more.) By the numbers, we finished the month with 319 files in the Archives, including 157 documents and … Continue reading January 2024 Update – Automobile Travel
The A.L.A. Automobile Green Book Official Touring Guide is an early version of what we now know as AAA tour guides, with maps, travel information, and directions. These were published from c. 1920 through the 1940s and apparently into the 1950s. This 1924 Volume 2 had 924 pages in small type with turn-by-turn directions for … Continue reading 1924 A.L.A. Automobile Green Book
Here are three maps that continue the story of the development of the Hopewell Valley road network. The 1920s N. J. State Road Maps show the original route of our Route 31 (previously Route 69) – directly through downtown Pennington and then forking at Marshall’s Corner. The 1962 Hopewell Township Road Map then shows roads … Continue reading 1920s and 1962 Hopewell Road Maps
