Hopewell Valley History Project
Preserving Our History
Most of the formal photos of the St. Michael’s Orphanage show only a front view of the imposing building, with no visible signs of life. So here are some photos that show some groups of St. Michael’s children in various activities. These include views of kids swinging on the playground, a boy scout group, and … Continue reading Photos of St. Michael’s Kids
We mainly know the St. Michael’s Orphanage from photos like this of the front of the imposing building that faced the street. But with the help of our growing collection of images, here are views of three additional structures that were out of sight behind the main building. These include the Chapel addition, the separate … Continue reading St. Michael’s – Behind the Building
As we look forward to the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States, we also are looking back 50 years to the 1976 Bicentennial, and the local quilts that were created to celebrate that event and other related historical anniversaries. (Yes, the 250th also is called the Semiquincentennial – as in half of five times … Continue reading Pennington Bicentennial Quilts
Here’s some more research in preparation for the upcoming talk on St. Michael’s Orphanage: A Visual History, on Wed., May 8, 2024, in Hopewell and on Zoom. See also the recent post on the St. Michael’s Orphanage Photo Collection. These are statistics extracted from the U. S. Census records for St. Michael’s from 1900 through … Continue reading St. Michael’s Orphanage Census Records
Doug Dixon provides a visual history of St. Michael’s, exploring the grounds, building, and interior using photos and memories from a variety of contributors Presented by Douglas Dixon, Hopewell Valley History Project Wed., May 8, 2024, 7 pm – Free and open to the public – Attend in person – Hopewell Presbyterian Church, 80 W … Continue reading Talk: St. Michael’s Orphanage: A Visual History
This Pennington N. J. Fire Company 125th Anniversary Booklet was published in 2016, and includes 64 pages with photos and information on current and past officers, members, and equipment. There are also extensive sections on the history of the history of the Fire Company and the Ladies Auxiliary. The Pennington Fire Company is one of … Continue reading Pennington Fire Company 125th Anniversary – 2016
The recently-closed Hopewell Theater Building at 5 South Greenwood Avenue in Hopewell has been the site of multiple different types of theaters since 1897, from a community hall to movie theater, research center to oldies movie theater, live musical theater to indie arts venue. The South Greenwood street was opened up around 1896 with the … Continue reading Hopewell Theaters on South Greenwood
So what’s up with all these menus – I thought we were doing history here? Well, yes, the History Project is collecting and sharing materials from Hopewell’s past, but there’s also the future history to think of – preserving the history of our own time for the next generations. == View 2000s Hopewell Menus in … Continue reading History on the Menu – Future History
Here are two student typography projects done in 1919 and 1920, including a poster for a game between Princeton High School and Hopewell High School. These were done by Royal Carroll, who was in 9th grade at the time at Princeton High School. Royal lived on the family farm east of Rocky Hill, and married … Continue reading Learning Your Letters – School Signs
Updated 2/14/24 – Thanks to multiple commentators on Facebook. The late 1800s and early 1900s saw the beginnings of personal photography, with local drugstores selling photo postcards and photo enthusiasts carrying box cameras that used glass plate negatives. So if a group of young people in Hopewell wanted to take some fun pictures, their version … Continue reading Hopewell Rocks
