Hopewell Valley History Project
Preserving Our History
The Hopewell Valley Bistro and Inn building at 15 East Broad Street and Seminary Avenue has been in the news, with plans to demolish the structure and rebuild a historically familiar design for use as an upscale restaurant and apartments (see MercerMe article). The building has a nearly 150 year history as a residential home … Continue reading The Hopewell Inn / Central Hotel
It’s Hopewell Borough’s 2021 Annual Town-Wide Yard Sale weekend! So as you clear out the attic and browse the sales, please be on the lookout for historic artifacts that we can preserve and share here on the History Project site. We welcome all types of materials that illustrate and explain our past, including: Printed – … Continue reading Preserving Hopewell Yard Sale Artifacts
Gary Saretzky has kindly shared his collection of black and white photographs of Hopewell Borough from 1978 to 1980, which also conveniently provide a record of the buildings and businesses of the time. UPDATE – 9/15/21 – Added 7 more Hopewell photographs from Gary Saretzky == See the Hopewell Artwork album in the Image Galley … Continue reading Hopewell Photographs by Gary Saretzky
What do you see in this photo from around 1916? What are these two ladies doing? And where is this? The area looks empty – without many houses or trees. We are used to our current tree-lined streets, but this was the state of our towns at the turn of the century – even as … Continue reading Hopewell Trees: 1900s vs. Today
The August updates on the Hopewell Valley History Project site included a new history brief on the forgotten story of Mercer Street – not just the earlier home of the American Legion, but also a major stonecutting operation for the first half of the 1900s. Another post highlighted the registered historic sites of Hopewell Township, … Continue reading August 2021 Update – Historic Sites
[Updated 9/3/21 – Additional photos for clearer view across back of Seminary] The 1910s saw a revolution in the lives of people and towns with the introduction of the automobile, including Henry Ford’s Model T, launched in 1908. We can track this change in Hopewell Borough and other local towns through the decline of the … Continue reading Hopewell’s Lost Liveries: From Horses to Cars
Mercer Street in Hopewell is a fascinating example of how familiar – and also how different – our streetscapes appear compared to the early 1900s. For example, today’s Mercer Street has businesses in the commercial area the West Broad Street end, and is residential at the Model Avenue end. But at the northeast end, before … Continue reading Mercer Street – Legion Hall and Stonecutting
The July updates on the Hopewell Valley History Project site added two new history briefs – on the well-remembered Soupe du Jour restaurant, and the long-forgotten Hopewell brickyard. We also added two collections of images around town from the 1960s and 70s – a set from Bob Gantz showing both familiar buildings and lost streetscapes, … Continue reading July 2021 Update – Bricks and Soup
These trade cards were issued around the mid-1880s for J. Thomas Gandy’s drug store in Hopewell. These pocketable cards with colorful images were a popular method of promotion to clients and customers, and are shared here thanks to the kindness of Bob Gantz. == View all the Gandy Drug Store Trade Cards in the Image … Continue reading Gandy’s Drug Store & Trade Cards
This wonderful view down Railroad Place in Hopewell seems so familiar – with the Chocolate Factory and then J. B. Hill & Sons to the right and the Tomato Factory at the end of the street. But this photo actually captures a long-lost streetscape, including two buildings that were destroyed by arson, and the railroad … Continue reading Hopewell 1965 and Railroad Place
