Hopewell Valley History Project
Preserving Our History
Thanks to Charles Hunt, we have a collection of over 230 images of sites across Hopewell Valley from 2016, plus recollections of them back to 1966. How many of these sites, buildings, and businesses do you remember? These are from a reunion scrapbook prepared for the Hopewell Valley Central High School Class of 1966 at … Continue reading 2016 / 1966 Hopewell Valley Scrapbook and Photos
The July 2024 updates to the History Project include 1960s vintage road maps showing changes to the local road network, railroad timetables from 1945 to 1978 illustrating the decline of service from the 1940s, plus more on the St. Michael’s Orphanage, school, and cemetery. (See Site Updates for more.) By the numbers, we finished the … Continue reading July 2024 Update – Road Maps, Train Schedules, and St Michael’s
Every now and then we can get a glimpse back in time to what life in Hopewell was like 50 or 100 years ago. Sometimes these come from newly-discovered photos or writing. And sometimes they come from names and numbers on a page, as with two newly-discovered sets of St. Michael’s Mission and School annual … Continue reading St. Michael’s School & Mission Annual Reports, 1940s-1973
Yes, there was a cemetery at St. Michael’s Orphanage in Hopewell. And no, we do not know much about it, except from a few brief references and a few memories. So please do contact us if you have additional information about the cemetery. The St. Michael’s cemetery was located in a tree-lined lane set back … Continue reading The St. Michael’s Cemetery – and Celtic Cross
The June 2024 updates to the History Project focused on the Straube Center and the Cointreau Distillery in Pennington, plus more on the St. Michael’s Orphanage farm, the Hopewell Township Police 50th, and tips on using the History Project resources to explore Hopewell Valley. (See Site Updates for more.) By the numbers, we finished the … Continue reading June 2024 Update – Cointreau and the Straube Center
The Hopewell Township Police Department is celebrating its 50th anniversary (1994-2024) as a full-time police department this summer – and has kindly shared the 50th Anniversary Brochure plus department patches and other materials to memorialize the event. The department was started as a part-time operation in the 1920’s or early 1930’s. The full-time department then … Continue reading Hopewell Township Police – 50th Anniversary Brochure
Our Hopewell Valley and towns are seeped in history – deep in the names and landscape and buildings around us. One fun way to get out and around and explore this past is with a history tour – driving around the area and walking in the towns. You also can explore virtually online to learn … Continue reading Explore Historic Hopewell Valley – House and Street Tours
What would a large farm operation be like in Hopewell in the early 1900s? What kinds of animals did they raise – livestock and poultry? What variety of produce did they grow – vegetables and fruit? How much product did they generate – hay and grain, dairy products, eggs? And how did the finances work … Continue reading St. Michael’s Farm Report – 1914
It’s Memorial Day weekend, with the Hopewell Borough parade on Sunday at 1 pm, and the Pennington Parade on Monday at 11 am. Local veterans groups also will be holding memorial observance throughout the weekend. The public is welcome to attend these events. == View full 2024 Schedule of Hopewell Memorial Day Weekend Veterans Events … Continue reading Hopewell Memorial Day Parades and Veterans Observances 2024
What was life really like for our ancestors in Hopewell a century ago? We have some of their writings (see post on Hopewell Booklets), and we continue to do oral history interviews to capture memories – even back to the 1930s (see post on Hopewell Grammar School Kids). And now we can hear the songs … Continue reading Songs and Prayers of St. Michael’s Children
