Hopewell Valley History Project
Preserving Our History
April was focused on hunkering down in Hopewell Borough, viewing the town from above with some glorious aerial imagery, and then using the resources of this site to produce two Explore Historic Hopewell histories and visual tours for the area – one of the properties at West Broad and Louellen around the Hopewell Presbyterian Church, … Continue reading April 2020 Update – Exploring Hopewell Borough
UPDATED 4/24 – Add photo of library at Museum, with sign, and one-page timeline To celebrate Library Week this year, we have worked with the Hopewell Public Library to write up the fascinating history of the public library in Hopewell Borough. It’s a somewhat convoluted story of the ongoing determination and financial risk-taking of the … Continue reading The History of the Hopewell Public Library
We are pleased to scan and share the 75th Anniversary Program booklet for the Hopewell Fire Department, 1911 – 1986 (PDF). This is 77 pages of fascinating reading, with an extensive history and chronology of the multiple (at least three!) fire departments in town, plus loads of period photos, with lots of fire equipment (not … Continue reading Hopewell Fire Department 75th Anniversary Booklet
Archaeologist and historian Ian Burrow has kindly contributed two documents on the cultural landscape and history of our area. The first document is A Cultural Landscape History of the Cedar Ridge Preserve (PDF, 2018), the report on his study for the Sourland Mountain Cultural Landscape Project.: “A study of the approximately 170-acre Cedar Ridge Preserve, … Continue reading Cultural Landscape History from Ian Burrow
We wanted to get some aerial images of Hopewell Borough to help understand and explain the history and development of the town. So one bright sunny day in early April we sent up a drone to capture aerial photos and videos over the town. And Hopewell does look great! – The buildings glowing in the … Continue reading Hopewell Borough Aerial Panoramas
In case you missed the PS in the last post, we have scanned and posted two anniversary booklets that were distributed by Hopewell Borough churches – the Hopewell Calvary Baptist Church (1966) and St. Alphonsus Church (1977). The Hopewell Calvary Baptist Church 95th Anniversary booklet (1871 – 1966) (PDF) for the October 1966 celebration service … Continue reading Hopewell Boro Church Anniversary Booklets (1966 & 1977)
Have you noticed the interesting buildings as you drive into Hopewell Borough on West Broad Street past the Hopewell Presbyterian Church? The five buildings on both sides of the street between Lanning and Louellen Aves. (as the road curves down to the light) all have historical connections to the Presbyterian Church. They include a former … Continue reading Explore Historic Hopewell: Broad & Louellen
March saw the culmination of the goal of photographing the entire Hopewell Borough historic district, so that you can now use the Hopewell History Map to not only explore history (of course), but also to view current-day images of properties and streets around town (see Updates). We finished the month with 142 files in the … Continue reading March 2020 Update – Map the Hopewell Boro Historic District
We have added a fun collection of 30 family photos and postcards to the Image Archives thanks to Maryanna Twomey, especially for the shots of Memorial Day parades around Hopewell Borough, circa 1950. Also check out photos of a Bond Bread truck on Model Avenue, and other scenes near the railroad bridge. Enjoy!
You now can take a visual tour of the full Hopewell Borough historic district on the Hopewell History Map, panning around to see the street addresses in town and then zooming in to see thumbnail images of each property. Yes, the History Map is not just for history anymore. You now can view these current-day … Continue reading Tour The Hopewell Borough Historic District
