Hopewell Valley History Project
Preserving Our History
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 will also be holding memorial services over the weekend – in Hopewell Township on Saturday, and Hopewell Borough and Pennington before the parades on Sunday and Monday, respecively. The … Continue reading Hopewell Memorial Day Weekend Parades and Veterans Services
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. (See previous post on the Skillman General Store and Post Office). But … Continue reading Hopewell Grammar School Kids – c1912
This is the Skillman General Store, with the attached Skillman, N. J. Post Office, around 1950. These wonderful photos are from the collection of Eleanora Kolbert, who grew up in Hopewell on East Prospect Street as part of the extensive McAlinden family, and then moved to Skillman in 1952. The collection goes back to the … Continue reading Skillman General Store and Post Office – c1950
The March updates to the History Project featured the updated Hopewell Borough History Briefs – 2022 Edition, plus a variety of fun contributions, and the upcoming talk on the Hopewell Inn. (See Site Updates for more.) By the numbers, we finished the month with 299 files in the Archives, including 149 documents and 150 maps … Continue reading March 2023 Update – History Briefs Edition
What did our local train stations look like in their heyday? We have five new Pennington and Hopewell train station photos from 1973 that provide a glimpse of the past. These not only provide good views of the station buildings, they also show the additional structures along the tracks that have since been lost – … Continue reading Hopewell & Pennington Train Stations and Buildings – 1973
This wonderful bandana with a Hopewell Valley map is by Ann Gross, and dated 1974. The map features our major places, roads, and rivers, and is decorated with fun illustrations of life in the valley, ranging across farms and barns, cows and birds, kids fishing and biking, skiers and golfers and painters, and even two … Continue reading Hopewell Valley Map Scarf by Ann Gross
The February updates to the History Project featured Hopewell schools, plus old phone directories and some more recent history with photos from 2000. (See Site Updates for more.) By the numbers, we finished the month with 291 files in the Archives, including 144 documents and 147 maps and aerials. The Image Gallery now has 3209 … Continue reading February 2023 Update – School Days
Can you picture what our area was like twenty years ago, fifty years ago, a hundred years ago? We actually have a good collection of photographs of important local scenes across the Hopewell Valley around the turn of the century (1900), from postcards and some local photographers, and because local boosters were creating publications to … Continue reading History in Local Photos – 2000 and Today
Part of our Pamphlet Collection is a growing category of pamphlets from local schools, including the original Hopewell High School from the 1890s to 1920s (now the firehouse), and then Central High School from the 1930s. These include yearbooks, graduation programs, and programs for class plays. And now, courtesy of Roger Labaw, we have the … Continue reading Hopewell Elementary School 1952
In the recent post about Hopewell School Mascots, we discussed the interesting names of some of our local schools, including Toll Gate (named for the gatekeeper of the toll road) and Bear Tavern (named for a revolutionary-era drinking establishment). But where did the “Timberlane” name came from? Nicole Gianfredi, principal of Timberlane Middle School, kindly … Continue reading The Timberlane School Name
