Hopewell Valley History Project
Preserving Our History
We have five fascinating historic (and snowy) images of 65 Main Street, known as “Dixie Farm” when it was the home of William P. Howe, Sr. from 1910 to around 1913. The postcard shows a formal view of the structure from around the 1910s, with a two-story circular colonnaded portico framing the front door and … Continue reading William Howe’s “Dixie Farm” on S. Main in Pennington
Are these photos of Hopewell Valley – or not? This is a challenge that the History Project team faces when trying to identify newly contributed historic images. So now it’s your turn to decide which of these scenes are from the Hopewell Valley area, and identify the locations. In this case, the images are a … Continue reading Hopewell Valley or Not – Challenge!
We think of the Frog War as a local Hopewell thing, and really rather goofy – with cute frog logos for the Elementary School (see earlier post). But the Frog War was very serious business for the two heavyweight contenders that were fighting to preserve (or break) a monopoly on direct rail service between Philadelphia … Continue reading The Railroads of the Frog War
Do you remember the underpass at the Pennington train station? All that is left now are these handrails leading down into the ground after it was filled in. Lots of people have fond memories of the underpass – including the thrill as kids when they were surrounded by the sound of the train rumbling overhead. … Continue reading Pennington Train Station Underpass
History is not only about facts, but also about understanding people and their stories, including their lives, organizations, businesses, and towns. And sometimes our predecessors leave us a window into how they see their lives. One unexpected example of this is The Industrial Directory of New Jersey, which was printed by the N. J. Bureau … Continue reading Hopewell Valley Towns in the Early 1900s
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
This wonderful image taken at the Hopewell train station in 1881, and provided courtesy of Steven Cohen, illustrates the importance of the arrival of the railroad in the 1870s to the villages of Hopewell and Pennington. This is from a promotional poster created by Reuben Savidge, who ran the general store in Mount Rose and … Continue reading Hopewell Train Station in 1881
The Image Gallery has added more than 95 postcards thanks to the continued kindness of local collector Steven Cohen, who is also involved with the Washington Crossing Card Collectors Club (WC4). Steven specializes in Real Photo Postcards (RPPC), which are produced by a photographic process using a camera and photographic paper (i.e., like a photo … Continue reading “Real Photo” Postcards of Titusville, Pennington, and the Valley
Local author Nancy Kennedy’s new book, Women Win the Vote!: 19 for the 19th Amendment, has just been released. It’s a wonderful introduction to the story of women’s suffrage, viewed through the lives of nineteen women who lead and suffered for the fight. The book is described as middle-grade nonfiction for ages 9-13 (grades 5-8). … Continue reading “Women Win the Vote!” Book Released
In addition to the fascinating Hopewell Borough aerial photos from 1932, Sam Castoro also has kindly provided over 60 historic postcards to be scanned for the Image Archives. These are primarily scenes of Hopewell Boro, with some additional images of Pennington and Titusville. The Pennington cards include this fascinating image of the Pennington Seminary (now … Continue reading Pennington Seminary Ladies’ Room & More Postcards
