Hopewell Valley History Project
Preserving Our History
The May updates to the History Project included a video of the 1965 Titusville July 4th celebration and a 1975 video of the bar at the Hopewell Inn, plus historic images of William Howe’s “Dixie Farm” in Pennington, and video and references for the Hopewell Inn presentation. (See Site Updates for more.) By the numbers, … Continue reading May 2023 Update – Memorial Day
We have five fascinating historic (and snowy) images of 65 Main Street, known as “Dixie Farm” when it was the home of William P. Howe, Sr. from 1910 to around 1913. The postcard shows a formal view of the structure from around the 1910s, with a two-story circular colonnaded portico framing the front door and … Continue reading William Howe’s “Dixie Farm” on S. Main in Pennington
This amazing video from around 1975 shows patrons at the bar of the Hopewell Inn, 15 East Broad Street at Seminary Avenue in Hopewell, N. J. The video is short, under five minutes long, and has been enhanced and brightened for better visibility in the dark bar. So how do we know that this is … Continue reading 1975 Video of the Hopewell Inn Bar
The Hopewell Inn, long known as the Central Hotel, had a nearly 150 year history as a part of the town of Hopewell before it was demolished in July 2022. This presentation explores the forgotten history of the Hopewell Inn, and the people and families who nurtured and reinvigorated the building and ran the businesses … Continue reading The Story of the Hopewell Inn – Video and References
The April updates to the History Project featured views of kids at the Hopewell Grammar School on Model Avenue around 1912 and views of the Skillman General Store and Post Office around 1950, plus new discoveries related to the Hopewell Inn. (See Site Updates for more.) By the numbers, we finished the month with 299 … Continue reading April 2023 Update – Hopewell Inn Discoveries
The Hopewell Inn presentation is coming this Wednesday, May 3, at 7 pm. Discover the forgotten history of the people who reimagined, repurposed, and reinvigorated the property to allow it to continue as a central part of Hopewell life for almost 150 years. And take a visual tour of the building as we knew it … Continue reading The Forgotten History of the Hopewell Inn
Your challenge today is to find the differences between photos of this building. It turns out that there were four major phases in the renovations to the Hopewell Inn by different owners over the last century and a half. For more about the history of the Hopewell Inn – the people and the building – … Continue reading Seeing What’s Different – Changes to the Hopewell Inn
The press frenzy following the Lindbergh kidnapping brought an estimated 250 news writers, photographers, radio and sound film people to Hopewell Borough. The Hopewell Inn – then Gebhart’s Hotel – became the press headquarters, installing dozens of additional telephone wires and a branch telegraph station. The bonus for us today is that as a result … Continue reading Inside the Hopewell Inn – 1932
These first two images from around 1912 show the view from the Lincoln Grammar School on Model Avenue in Hopewell, as photographed by Ethel Holeman, a new teacher starting her career there. These are from the collection of her daughter, Eleanora McAlinden Kolbert. But in addition to celebrating this young teacher who thought to take … Continue reading Hopewell Grammar School Kids – c1912
Explore the forgotten history of the Hopewell Inn, and the people and families who nurtured and reinvigorated it over its almost 150 year history as a part of the town of Hopewell. Douglas Dixon, Hopewell Valley History Project Wed., May 3, 2023, 7 pm – Free and open to the public – Attend in person … Continue reading Talk: The Story of the Hopewell Inn – and the People Who Sustained It
