Hopewell Valley History Project
Preserving Our History
The July updates to the History Project included several major topics – the Discovering Local History Online presentation, the demolition of the Hopewell Inn building – plus multiple new maps, and the release of digital edition of Pennington Profile. (See Site Updates for more.) By the numbers, we finished the month with 279 files in … Continue reading July 2022 Update – Discovering Local History Online
Maps are beautiful! Local atlas and topographic maps provide amazing glimpses into the past – showing the topology, rivers and roads, and even buildings with identifications. These are impressive examples of the cartographic arts, combining lines, text, and symbols with color and shading – all at different sizes and scales – into a coherent and … Continue reading Historic Maps – Topographical and Geological
The June updates to the History Project included Twin Pine Airport, the Game of Hopewell Valley, Hopewell Inn Memorabilia, and other materials. (See Site Updates for more.) By the numbers, we finished the month with 266 files in the Archives, including 130 documents and 136 maps and aerials. The Image Gallery now has 2855 files, … Continue reading June 2022 Update – Twin Pine
It’s Hopewell Borough’s annual Town-Wide Yard Sale weekend, Saturday and Sunday, June 11 & 12. So as you clear out the attic and browse the sales – this weekend and this summer – please be on the lookout for historic artifacts that we can preserve and share here on the History Project site. Here are … Continue reading Yard Sailing for Local History
The May updates to the History Project were focused on the Seminary Avenue walking tour, with posts and briefs and images of the streets and properties along the route. Additional posts focused on Memorial Day observances, and told the story of of how the news came to Hopewell of its first son who was killed … Continue reading May 2022 Update – Seminary Ave.
This Memorial Day weekend, Hopewell Valley American Legion Post 339 will conduct cemetery and monument services on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday at multiple locations in Hopewell Township, Hopewell Borough, and Pennington Borough, respectively (i.e., in the mornings before the borough parades). The Hopewell Valley Veterans Association (HVVA) also will conduct an observance at the Veterans … Continue reading Memorial Day Weekend Veterans Services 2022
The April updates to the History Project featured posts and briefs and images of Hoproco toys – and the Hoproco manufacturing site in Hopewell. The major new documents are transcribed versions of two Hopewell booklets – Healthy, Historic Hopewell from 1897, and 1909 Hopewell New Jersey – now fully readable and searchable. There also are … Continue reading April 2022 Update – Hoproco Toys
The March updates to the History Project featured three videos showing Hopewell parades in 1946, 1947, and 1948. The major new documents are transcribed versions of two special issues of the Hopewell Herald – the 1900 Souvenir Edition and the 1914 Progress Edition – now fully readable and searchable. There also are some fun photos … Continue reading March 2022 Update – Parade Videos
We are very fortunate that our predecessors in Hopewell Borough wrote down and published the stories of their times. For example, we have Ralph Ege’s Pioneers of Old Hopewell book of local history (1908), several booklets promoting the town as a place for potential businesses and residents (1897 & 1909 – see below), and, of … Continue reading 1900 & 1914 Hopewell Progress Editions
This is an amazing 1914 map of the entire Delaware & Raritan Canal system. The map was drawn by the Pennsylvania Railroad, who owned the canal from 1871 until 1933. The canal then reverted to the state of New Jersey and used as a water supply. The 70-mile Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park was … Continue reading 1914 Delaware & Raritan Canal Map
