Hopewell Valley History Project
Preserving Our History
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
Can you help identify and date these photos taken in Pennington in the mid to late 1900s? These are from different sets of postcards, but none of the cards were dated. There are some clues in the images, especially the models of the cars, but does anyone know more about these – when they were … Continue reading Postcards of Pennington
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
The June updates on the Hopewell Valley History Project site wrapped up the coverage of Industrial Hopewell: Railroad Place with the online webinar presentation and posting of the presentation slides. This was followed by some fun local history of Hopewell Borough. By the numbers, we finished the month with 228 files in the Archives, including … Continue reading June 2021 Update – Welcome to Hopewell
The May updates on the Hopewell Valley History Project site supported Hopewell Valley Heritage Week in the Valley, and continued to focus on Railroad Place in Hopewell Borough for the Industrial Hopewell walking tours and the upcoming online virtual tour of Railroad Place. By the numbers, we finished the month with 225 files in the … Continue reading May 2021 Update – Industrial Hopewell
Next week, May 22 – 31, 2021, is Hopewell Valley Heritage Week, celebrating the rich heritage of the Hopewell Valley with a full week of events, some virtual and others outdoors. This year’s theme is Trains, Planes & Automobiles – American Indian to Modern Day Transportation in Hopewell Valley. And to celebrate we have two … Continue reading Historical Slide Shows for Heritage Week
We have two new aerial photos from 1966, showing views to the horizon of Pennington and Hopewell boroughs. The ground is blanketed in snow, with open area and fields surrounding the development in the towns. These are thanks again to Roger Labaw, who filmed these while flying in a private plane. Looking East Over Pennington … Continue reading 1966 Snowy Aerials of Pennington and Hopewell
The Hopewell area has seen two different railroad lines and a trolley line providing service up through Hopewell and Pennington. Two of these tracks are long gone, but some of their footprints remain. In Hopewell Borough, for example, the train station that we know was built in 1876, conveniently in time for the Centennial Exposition … Continue reading Hopewell Railroad Sidings
We have some wonderful new images from two new contributors: Jacob Aungst kindly shared images of a Hopewell Dainties sign. The Dainties brand was the flagship product manufactured by the Hopewell Chocolate Company at the old Chocolate Factory from 1909 to 1930 (see earlier post). The sign has seen hard times, but is readable on … Continue reading 1955 Hopewell Trains and Stations
In 1964, Mercer County celebrated the “300th Anniversary of New Jersey” with a wonderful commemorative book, Mercer County Tercentenary 1664-1964, which provides a broad snapshot of the time, with extensive discussions of the history, current status, and path forward for the county – from a rather optimistic and positive perspective. This book is in the … Continue reading Mercer County Tercentenary, 1664-1964
