Hopewell Valley History Project
Preserving Our History
by Douglas Dixon Here are some highlights of the 2023 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, shared online in digital and searchable formats for education … Continue reading Hopewell History Project – 2023 Highlights
We have posted a new collection of some 180 photos of people and activities at St. Michael’s Orphanage in a album on the History Project site. This is in addition to the some 30 existing mostly postcards of the building, for a total of over 200 images now shared on the site. These include over … Continue reading St. Michael’s Orphanage Photo Collection
Season’s Greetings from the Hopewell Valley History Project! Here are some snowflakes and snow – Two sets of photos that remind us of holidays in Hopewell, with local traditions including the snowflake lights in downtown Hopewell Borough and snowy scenes at Gazebo Park. See the links at the end for more historical snowy scenes. Do … Continue reading Hopewell Holiday Traditions – Snowflakes and Snow
65 East Broad Street in Hopewell was built in 1933 as a combination garage, store, and apartment – and as the new home of the Arena family and their Italian-American grocery business. The building was shared by multiple businesses into the 1940s, and then was the home of several auto sales and repair businesses until … Continue reading 65 East Broad, Hopewell – Markets and Autos
This is a pictorial summary of the history of the Old School Baptist Church and its property. As you can see from these images of the church and grounds, the historic building and cemetery are remarkably well preserved and substantially unchanged from over a century ago. The Old School Baptist Church was the core of … Continue reading Old School Baptist Church – Pictorial History
Remember the good old days when our Route 31 was known as Route 69 – and the exciting new proposed route of I-95 was planned to be routed north up the Hopewell Valley through Mt. Rose? These Esso maps from 1961 and 1969 tell the story of those “interesting” days. There are two extracts from … Continue reading 1960s Hopewell Maps with Route 69 and I-95
Here are two quilts that were created by children to celebrate the anniversaries of the 1891 incorporation of Hopewell Borough – one for the Centennial in 1991 and the other for the 125th Anniversary in 2016. We would particularly like to know more about the 1991 Centennial Quilt, done by the Hopewell Public Library. Also … Continue reading Hopewell Boro Centennial and 125th Anniversary Quilts
Belgian Draft Horse Chester: A Story of Friendship is a wonderful book by local historian Larry Kidder about his long friendship with Chester, a draft (working) horse at the Howell Living History Farm. It’s a charming story that includes some sad moments, and also moments of great satisfaction as Kidder describes his growing friendship and … Continue reading A Man and a Horse: Larry Kidder and Chester
Continuing in our effort to capture and archive the histories of the local Hopewell Valley churches, here is a presentation from 2002 created to celebrate and document the 125th anniversary of the Hopewell Presbyterian Church. The presentation includes historical photos and information on the early church properties along West Broad and Louellen streets, a chronology … Continue reading Hopewell Presbyterian Church 125th Anniversary – 2002
For a look back to the Hopewell area in the 1970s and 1980s, we can explore Hopewell Community Day – a very full day of community fun and activities that was the predecessor to the current Hopewell Harvest Fair. Over the years, Community Day developed into a fundraiser for the many local volunteer and non-profit … Continue reading Remembering Hopewell Community Day, 1974 – 1985
