Below you will find videos of talks and presentations showcasing some of the great features of the Museum’s collection. Check back on this page regularly for new videos as they are posted or follow us on Facebook for updates.
The Hopewell Tomato Canning Factory
Alantha Carter, Board Member, The Hopewell Museum
The story of the Hopewell Tomato Factory building, built in 1892 as the Hopewell Valley Canning Company. Tomatoes were canned here in Hopewell for almost 60 years, up until around 1950. Hear the stories of canning in New Jersey, the canning business, the manufacturing process, plus some vignettes of the times. Learn the story of Alexander W. Livingston, who first developed the tomato varieties that we know today. Click for more information on the history of the Tomato Factory.
Video Overview
0:30 - The Tomato in New Jersey
1:35 - The Hopewell Valley Canning Company
3:25 - Museum Collections
4:20 - Canning Business & Process
6:20 - Quarryville Canning Co. and Urban Food Company
6:55 - Hometown Vignettes
7:50 - Sun Packing and Bankruptcy
8:30 - Tomato Factory Antiques
9:20 - The Tomato Story
9:55 - Livingston Tomatoes
Voting... With a Little Help From Your Friends
Nancy B. Kennedy, Author of Women Win the Vote! 19 for the 19th Amendment
In celebration of Women's History Month, local author Nancy B. Kennedy explores the history of voting in Hopewell and the local scene during the woman suffrage fight. The Hopewell Museum's collection of vintage ballot boxes is front and center. Think voting has always been a private act? Think again!
Arrowheads, Spears and Knives, Oh My!
Ian Burrow, Archaeologist, The Hopewell Museum
Arrowheads, spears and knives were made by chipping and flaking particular kinds of stone. Archaeologists call these artifacts "projectile points" or "bifaces", because they weren't all used as arrowheads (even though that's what they look like). In this presentation we will see the wide range of shapes, sizes and raw materials that these artifacts have. We will discuss some of the reasons for these variations, and how archaeologists classify, name, and date them.
Stone Tools for Many Purposes
Ian Burrow, Archaeologist, The Hopewell Museum
The Hopewell Museum has an important collection of American Indian stone tools from our area. This presentation will introduce some of these tools. Topics to be covered include: methods of manufacture, function, raw material, age, and how the object throws light on past Indian lifeways.
Hopewell and the Chocolate Factory
Annginette Anderson, Board Member, The Hopewell Museum
The iconic Hopewell Chocolate Factory was built in 1892 as a shirt factory, and later was the home to three different candy companies. Annginette Anderson discusses the history of the Chocolate Factory, and explores the Museum's collection of chocolate boxes from Belle Mead Sweets and Hopewell Dainties that locals have saved for over a century. Click for more information on the history of the Chocolate Factory.
Video Overview
1:00 - Investing in Hopewell - The Shirt Factory
2:15 - Belle Mead Sweets
3:30 - Fraley Vibrators
4:00 - Hopewell Chocolate Company
5:50 - Museum Chocolate Boxes - Belle Mead Sweets
6:25 - Museum Chocolate Boxes - Hopewell Dainties
Mapping Old Hopewell, 1680 through 1720
Joseph Klett, President, The Hopewell Museum
Joseph Klett, current president of The Hopewell Museum and director of the New Jersey State Archives, discusses the research and challenges in developing a map of "Old Hopewell and Vicinity" for the 1680-1720 period. Joe discusses the founding of Hopewell Township 320 years ago, when it encompassed the three Hopewell Valley municipalities as well as Ewing and most of Trenton, and the location of known Native American sites, the first Europeans' homesteads and their churches. Sources at the Museum, State Archives, and other repositories are highlighted.
References (available at the Hopewell Museum)
Hopewell, A Historical Geography, Richard Hunter and Richard Porter (1990)
Pioneers of Old Hopewell, Ralph Ege (1908; 1963)
The Town Records of Hopewell, New Jersey, Colonial Dames (1931)
Video Overview
0:00 - Overview of the map and founding of Hopewell Township
7:00 - Native American trails, and roads before 1720
8:40 - Native American villages
12:25 - European family settlements & Maidenhead (Lawrenceville)
15:00 - Early churches
18:40 - Slavery
20:00 - Sources - land records, books, road maps, road returns, tax lists, church history, probate records
28:45 - Title issues - Proprietors of West New Jersey
The Mysterious John Hart, New Jersey Signer
Bonita Craft Grant, Archivist, The Hopewell Museum.
John Hart, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and prominent member of the early New Jersey legislature, was a long-time Hopewell resident and landowner. Much is known about Hart, but much more still is unknown. To this day, the man remains a mysterious figure. Archivist Bonita Grant will present items from the museum's collection connected to John Hart and discuss the challenge of piecing together the many mysteries that surround one of New Jersey's more notable figures from the colonial period.
References
John Hart: The Biography of a Signer of the Declaration Of Independence, Cleon E. Hammond, Pioneer Press (1977)
Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration Of Independence, Volume 3, Part 2, New Jersey, Second Edition, Rev. Frederick Wallace Pyne, Picton Press (2009)