THIS EVENT WILL BE RESCHEDULED. STAY TUNED FOR REVISED DATE. Joseph Klett, Executive Director of the New Jersey State Archives and President of The Hopewell Museum, will discuss the earliest European settlement of "old Hopewell," which included Trenton and Ewing prior to 1720.

Joe will touch upon Indian villages and paths, early roads, civil boundaries, and the Quaker, Presbyterian, Dutch Reformed, and Baptist families that settled here starting in the late 1600s. He will also highlight early primary sources such as land and probate records, documentation on slave holdings, etc. Part of the Hopewell Public Library Speaker Series. Co-sponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society and The Hopewell Museum. Register for online presentation: The European Settlement of "Old Hopewell"

Join railroad professional Bob Lawless as he recounts the origin, construction, and operations of the short-lived Mercer & Somerset Railway. Built in the early-1870’s, this railroad provided the citizens of Hopewell Valley with the means of traveling to Trenton, Philadelphia, and New York in less time than ever before. While the events surrounding the “Frog War” are the most memorable, the history of the railroad is replete with fascinating accounts related to the communities of which it served. Although service ended less than a decade after it started, many relics of the line remain as reminders of the railroad that contributed to the prosperity of the Hopewell Valley. Co-sponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society, the Hopewell Museum, and the Friends of the Hopewell Branch Library. Register for online presentation: The Ghost Railroad of Hopewell Valley.

Please join us in a discussion with Beverly Mills and Elaine Buck, the authors of African Americans of Central New Jersey: A History of Harmony and Hostility. Through grit and determination, the founding Black families of Sourland Mountain and surrounding Central New Jersey put down roots, built homes, established churches and navigated their lives in an unforgiving world. Through extensive research and interviews authors Elaine Buck and Beverly Mills reveal stories of the families who shaped the region for generations.

Copies of their book, African Americans of Central New Jersey, released this past July, will be available for sale, as well as signing.

​Elaine Buck and Beverly Mills are the founders of the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum and co-authors of If These Stones Could Talk. They proudly received the Kirkus Book Review in October 2018 and in 2019 the New Jersey Author's Award Non-Fiction Popular Works Category. Cosponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society, The Hopewell Museum, and the Friends of the Hopewell Branch Library.

This event is free and open to the public. Attend in person at the Hopewell Branch of the Mercer County Library, 245 Pennington-Titusville Rd., Pennington, NJ.

Click here to register for in-person: African Americans of Central New Jersey

Or attend the event online via Zoom. Click here to register for online only​: African Americans of Central New Jersey (Online)

The Old School Baptist Meeting House and its congregation, founded in the early 1700s, is a nationally important treasure. In the last few years, local historical researchers and preservation experts have been finding out more about its history. Come and hear presentations about what is being uncovered, and about planning for the future of this historic Hopewell landmark. The panel discussion will be followed by a Q&A session.

Presentations include:

​• The Historic Importance of the the Old School Baptist Church and its Congregation by Christie Alderman, Preparer of the National Register of Historic Places Nomination

• Researching the Historical Documents of the Old School Baptist Meeting by Cynthia O'Connor, Local Historian

• The African-American Old School Baptists by Elaine Buck and Beverly Mills, Authors of If These Stones Could Talk

• The 1747 Graveyard: Where and Who? By Ian Burrow, Archaeologist

• Preserving the Old School Baptist Meeting for the Future by Michael Mills, Historic Preservation Architect

• Q & A Moderated by Ian Burrow

Part of the ​Hopewell Public Library Speaker Series. Cosponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society and The Hopewell Museum

Attend the event in person in the Sanctuary of the Hopewell Presbyterian Church, 80 West Broad Street, Hopewell, NJ 08525. The presentation is free and open to the public.​ Register to attend the event online via Zoom: Old School Baptist Meeting

Joseph Klett, Executive Director of the New Jersey State Archives and President of The Hopewell Museum, will discuss the use of autosomal DNA matches to help trace challenging lineages and identify hitherto unknown ancestors. He will draw from case studies to show how DNA results have guided and redirected his own research into 18th- and 19th-century New Jersey families, leading to the discovery of documentary sources. Learn about case studies​ that used DNA matches leading to surprising results.

Part of the Hopewell Public Library Speaker Series. Co-sponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society and The Hopewell Museum.

Attend the event in person in Fellowship Hall at the Hopewell Presbyterian Church, 80 West Broad Street, Hopewell, NJ 08525.

Register for the online presentation via Zoom: Following the DNA Trail: Using Ancestry.com DNA Results to Solve Genealogical Mysteries

Hopewell Valley is home to many bridges, but how did people get around before they were built? Early colonists may have been able to wade their horses across our many streams but imagine no Scudder Falls or Washington Crossing Bridge! Pennsylvania was just an aspiration to many before ferries were established every couple of miles along the Delaware. Who ran those operations and how did it work when you wanted to visit your cousin in Yardley? Or buy goods in Philadelphia? Or defeat the British?

Join historian and author Stan Saperstein as he explains early ferry operations and how important they were both to regular people and to General Washington in winning the Revolutionary War. Co-sponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society, the Hopewell Museum, and the Washington Crossing Park Association.

Attend the event in person at the Washington Crossing State Park Visitors Center Museum, 355 Washington Crossing Pennington Road (Route 546), Titusville, NJ 08560. You are welcome to also visit the Museum, which will be open from 9 am to 4 pm.

Register to attend online via Zoom: Ferries: A Lifeline for Colonial Hopewell Valley Travelers

​Directions to the Museum:

The Park entrance can be found across the street from 442 Washington Crossing Pennington Road. Turn into the entrance and go past the kiosk. Follow the signs to turn left onto Greene Drive/Brick Yard Road, and then turn left into the parking lot. Handicapped parking can be reached by driving through the parking lot and turning right, then down a dirt road until you reach the other side of the building.

The Hopewell Quarry swim club, east of Hopewell Borough, was once the site of a rock quarry that operated from the 1890s to around 1920, making crushed stone for local roads. And the stone crusher equipment did provide the name for the adjacent Crusher Road.

In this profusely illustrated presentation, Doug Dixon will survey local history from stones to swimming, the story of the growth of the Hopewell area, and of the dedicated efforts by a handful of couples and families to preserve and enhance this local resource for over a century. Co-sponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society and The Hopewell Museum as part of the Hopewell Public Library's Speaker series.

Attend the free event in person in Fellowship Hall at the Hopewell Presbyterian Church, 80 West Broad Street, Hopewell, NJ 08525. ​Attend the event online via Zoom – Click to register here for online only​ .

The Hopewell Inn, known by many as the Central Hotel, had a nearly 150-year history as a part of the town of Hopewell before it was demolished in July 2022. The building was used for residential and retail, hotel and livery, saloon and apartments, luncheonette and rooming house, and bar and bistro.

This presentation by Doug Dixon explores the history of the Hopewell Inn, from its beginnings in the 1870s as Hopewell's first drug store, through its heyday as hotel and headquarters for the world press after the Lindbergh kidnapping, to its most recent form as bar and bistro. Doug will explore the people and families who nurtured and reinvigorated the building and its various businesses through the years.

Co-sponsored by the Hopewell Public Library, the Hopewell Valley Historical Society and The Hopewell Museum. Attend the event in person at the Hopewell Theater, 5 South Greenwood Ave, Hopewell, NJ or online by registering at the following link: The Story of the Hopewell Inn

Margaret O’Connell was a pioneer in public history, who helped raise awareness for local history and culture, and educated an entire generation of Hopewell Valley students. Most famously, she wrote Pennington Profile, the Borough’s landmark history, which she considered her legacy to the children whom she could no longer teach. This talk, presented by Jack Koeppel and Jordan Antebi, highlights the life and legacy of a trailblazing woman whose contributions helped shape today’s Valley community, and whose courage in the face of adversity can inspire others today.

A new digital edition of Margaret O’Connell’s comprehensive book, Pennington Profile: A Capsule of State and Nation, is now available as a free digital download.

In-person event at the Wesley Forum of the Kenneth Kai Tai Yen Humanities Building, The Pennington School, 112 West Delaware Avenue, Pennington, NJ 08534.

Click for In-Person Registration: A Pennington Profile.

Registration for virtual presentation on Zoom: A Pennington Profile.

In honor of Black History Month, please join this panel discussion moderated by Catherine Fulmer-Hogan featuring African American families with deep roots in Hopewell Valley. This is a great opportunity to hear about our local history from residents who were often marginalized but led wonderful lives and built a powerful community in spite of it.

Moderator, Catherine Fulmer-Hogan is the current President of Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum (SSAAM), board member of the Hopewell Museum and Founder and Chair of Hopewell Valley Heritage Week.

Panel discussion will take place at Hopewell Valley Central High School Media Center 259 Pennington-Titusville Road, Pennington, NJ.Cosponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society and The Hopewell Museum.

The Belvidere-Delaware Railroad ran along the eastern bank of the Delaware River from Trenton through Phillipsburg and beyond to Manunka Chunk in Warren County. The arrival of the railroad in 1851 brought significant changes to the communities along its route. These effects were not limited to economic opportunities, but also resulted in long-lasting impacts on the societal and cultural aspects within the region.

In this presentation by Robert Lawless, we will travel back in time to explore the by-gone days when the Bel-Del Railroad ​was an integral facet in daily life for the citizens of the Hopewell Valley. Co-sponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society, the Hopewell Museum, the Hopewell Township Historic Preservation Commission, and the Titusville Presbyterian Church.

In person presentation at the Titusville Presbyterian Church, 48 River Drive, Titusville, NJ 08560. Online presentation via Zoom. Register at the following link: When the Railroad Comes to Town

Archaeologist and Hopewell Museum Trustee Ian Burrow will present his recent effort cataloging the approximately 2,000 Indian artifacts in the Hopewell Museum collection. American Indians have lived in the Hopewell area for at least 9,000 years and through the study of these artifacts, together other records, we are learning more about the ways of life of the people who lived here for so long.

Part of Hopewell Public Library's “Wednesday Night Out” Series. Cosponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society and The Hopewell Museum. In-person presentation at the Hopewell Theater, 5 South Greenwood Avenue, Hopewell, NJ. Register for the online presentation at the following link: The Lenape and Their Ancestors in the Hopewell Valley.

Join us at the Hopewell Museum for the return of our annual Holiday tea and open house. Our annual Tea has always been a great way to open our doors and share the museum with the greater community. Come spend time “behind the scenes” and learn about the Museum’s restoration efforts and our plans for collections cataloging and management.

Hoproco, the Hopewell Products Company, operated from 1923 to 1929 on Burton Avenue in Hopewell, manufacturing metal and wooden mechanical toys and novelties that are still admired and collected today. In this presentation, Doug Dixon will explore the history of Hoproco, the toys that the company created, and the factory building on Burton Ave.

Come early to see examples of actual antique Hoproco toys exhibited by several local collectors, The Hopewell Museum, and the Hopewell Valley Historical Society.

Presented by the Hopewell Public Library “Wednesday Night Out” Series. Cosponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society and The Hopewell Museum. Event is in-person at the Hopewell Theater, 5 South Greenwood Ave, Hopewell, NJ and online via Zoom. Register for the online event here: Hoproco—Hopewell's 1920s Toy Company. The event is free and open to the public. No registration is required for the in-person portion of the event.

Explore the land that was once the Klevze farm and learn about its history and its relationship with the St. Michael's Orphanage.

Our tour guide/speaker will be Rick Klevze. The Klevze family leased farmland adjacent to St. Michael’s Orphanage and Industrial School from the Catholic Diocese of Trenton and provided food for the children living there. Rick will speak about the Civil War colonel who donated the land to the Catholic Church in the late 1800s. He will also discuss life on the farm and the orphanage and school up until St. Michael’s closure in the early 1970s.

The event will start at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church and will proceed to the St. Michael's preserve. The event will take place in the basement of St. Alphonsus church in the event of inclement weather.

Sponsored by the Catholic Community of Hopewell Valley. Direct questions regarding the event to dgaluchie@msn.com.

In this presentation, Doug Dixon of the Hopewell Valley History Project will follow up on his recent historic walking tour of Seminary Avenue in Hopewell Borough to demonstrate how researching in a variety of resources can weave together interesting stories of our local history.

Why the focus on the apparently undistinguished Seminary Avenue, a single block off East Broad Street? It turns out that Seminary Avenue has been a “starter street” for Hopewell since it was opened around 1880. The variety of subdivided buildings with apartments and storefronts provided places where young families and small businesses could establish themselves in a growing town—from barbers, bakers, and butchers, to clothing and grocery stores, plus a theatre, firehouse, and library.

Doug will explore the stories of the amazing variety of people and businesses that developed along this street, illustrated by sources including maps and photos, books and references, deeds and census records, newspaper articles and obituaries, and enhanced by the memories of local people and family members.

Part of the Hopewell Public Library’s “Wednesday Night Out” Series. Cosponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society and The Hopewell Museum.

The event is free and open to the public. Attend the event in person at the Hopewell Theater, 5 South Greenwood Ave, Hopewell, NJ., or attend the event online via Zoom: Exploring Seminary Avenue.

Since the introduction of photographic portrait studios in 1840, photographs have been among the most treasured of family records but, while most are long-lasting when stored optimally in archives, in the home environment, they are all too often prone to fading and discoloration. In this presentation, photography historian Gary Saretzky, former Monmouth County archivist, will provide guidance on how to preserve and extend the life of family photographs for future generations. The lecture will also cover the digitization, restoration, and enhancement of old photographs.​

Cosponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society, The Hopewell Museum, and the Pennington Public Library. This is an online presentation via Zoom. Registration required. Register here: Preserving Family Photographs.

Join Matthew Skic, Curator of Exhibitions at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, for an exciting look at the artistic career of Don Troiani (b.1949), America's foremost historical military artist. Nearly 50 of Don Troiani's original paintings of the Revolutionary War are now on display at the Museum of the American Revolution. Matthew will discuss Troiani's artistic process, how Troiani uses his collection of historic military antiques in his work, and the significance of Troiani's paintings to our understanding of the Revolutionary War.

Liberty: Don Troiani's Paintings of the Revolutionary War is on view at the Museum of the American Revolution until September 5, 2022. Tickets and exhibit catalogs are available for purchase at amrevmuseum.org.

Cosponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society, The Hopewell Museum, and the Hopewell Branch of the Mercer County Library. This is an online presentation via GoToMeeting. Registration required. Register here: Liberty: Don Troiani’s Paintings of the Revolutionary War.

Born in Amwell Township to a free Black mother, Jacob Francis lived his 82-year life in a world of revolutionary change. He became caught up in the rising tide of revolution in the 1760s and 70s and served in the Continental Army, including at the Battle of Trenton, and then the New Jersey militia. Establishing himself as a farmer, he married an enslaved woman named Mary, freed her, and raised their eight children in the vicinity of Flemington during a period of rising interest in abolition.

Join Larry Kidder as he shares the amazing story of Jacob Francis and his family and provides an inside view of life in New Jersey the revolutionary changes affecting the lives of both free and enslaved Black people.

Cosponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society, The Hopewell Museum, and the Hopewell Branch of the Mercer County Library.

Registration for online presentation via GotoMeeting required. Register at the following link: Jacob Francis

The Community Room at the Hopewell Branch Library will also broadcast a livestream of the program. To reserve a seat, please call 609.737.2610 or email hopeprogs@mcl.org.

The Hopewell and Pennington train stations not only are historic National Register-listed properties, they also are iconic symbols of our communities. Built in 1876, these stations served over twenty trains a day between Philadelphia and New York in the heyday of the railroads before sinking into disrepair with the decline of railroad traffic. But the stations have since been reborn, as a private residence in Pennington and as a community park and gathering place in Hopewell Borough.

In this presentation, Doug Dixon will present a visual history of these train stations, illustrating their story with photographs and artwork. This talk will celebrate both the history of the railroads in the Hopewell area, and the photographers and artists who captured them in the past. Event will be presented in-person at The Hopewell Theater, 5 South Greenwood Avenue, Hopewell, NJ (masks required) as well as online over Zoom. Registration required at the following link: Hopewell Train Stations.

The annual meeting of the Hopewell Valley Historical Society will take place at the 1765 Jeremiah Woolsey House (the historic Granzow home 237 Washington Crossing-Pennington Road, Titusville). The public is welcome to attend. Members will vote on HVHS business. There will be a presentation of the Hopewell Valley History Awards.

This meeting will be held in-person outdoors, and also streamed online via Zoom by registration at the Hopewell Valley Historical Society website. Social distancing and masks will be required for in-person attendance. Please bring your own mask and chair.

In the event of inclement weather, check the HVHS website and social media for updates beginning 24 hours before the meeting. The rain date is Sunday, October 3.

At 3:00 pm, architect Eric Holtermann will discuss the restoration and preservation of historic homes and how these beloved historic structures can be appropriately and respectfully adapted for modern life.

Register for the online presentation at the following link: Annual Meeting of the HVHS.

This year marks the 101st anniversary of the 19th Amendment that guaranteed American women the right to vote! Come join us to celebrate Women's Equality Day!

We'll be gathering on the grounds of the Hopewell train station for a fun family-oriented program that includes:

• A mini-play with audience participation that tells the story of the suffrage fight through the words of eight historical characters

• Dramatic short readings of historic suffrage victory speeches

• Refreshments, giveaways, and door prizes

• Crafts and activities for children

• Displays of suffrage artifacts

• Photos of local and state suffrage activism

Local author Nancy B. Kennedy will be on hand to rally the crowd. Her children's book, Women Win the Vote! 19 for the 19th Amendment, will be available for purchase.

Town Crier Stanley Saperstein will open the program. Voicing historic characters during the program will be Hopewell Township Mayor Julie Blake, Deputy Mayor Courtney Peters-Manning, Pennington Borough Council President Kit Chandler, and Hopewell Borough Councilmembers Deb Stuhler and Samara McAuliffe.

​Co-sponsored by the Hopewell Public Library, the Hopewell Valley Historical Society, and The Hopewell Museum.

Penelope Stout is claimed as the “Mother of Monmouth” and the “Mother of Middletown.” Her 17th century arrival and settlement in the New World is the stuff of legend—shipwrecked, attacked by Indians, saved by Indians, arrival in Dutch New Amsterdam, and finally the establishment of a new life in New Jersey with fellow English settlers under the Monmouth Patent in 1665.

Over the generations, Penelope’s story has gained mythic proportions. How could Penelope survive being half-scalped and partially eviscerated along with serious injuries? Did Penelope Stout really go on to bear ten children and live to the age of 110? Will historical evidence ever definitively prove or disprove these claims?

Jeanne M. Vloyanetes of Brookdale Community College presents Penelope Stout's compelling story and attempts to untangle the history from the legend. Co-sponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society, The Hopewell Museum, and the Hopewell Branch of the Mercer County Library. Registration required for this online webinar at the following link: More than a Myth: In Appreciation of Penelope Stout.

The arrival of two railroads in the 1870s spurred the growth of the towns of Hopewell and Pennington, as more convenient transportation brought greater opportunities for residents and businesses. But local boosters in Hopewell also saw a greater opportunity, and invested in developing Railroad Place as an industrial district that could support larger-scale manufacturing to provide more jobs and stronger growth.

In this virtual historical walking tour, Doug Dixon of the Hopewell Valley History Project explores turn-of-the century Railroad Place as an open industrial area crisscrossed with railway spurs serving multiple factories and freight businesses. Doug will investigate the sometimes convoluted history of the larger industrial buildings that have been passed down to us from that era, including the Chocolate Factory, the Tomato Factory, J. B. Hill’s, Rockwell Manufacturing, and other lesser-known stories. Co-sponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society, The Hopewell Museum, the Hopewell Public Library, and the Hopewell Branch of the Mercer County Library. Registration required. Register at the following link: Industrial Hopewell.

In this online event, artist, photographer, collector, and enthusiast Jerry Pevahouse will talk about local bottling and brewing businesses in New Jersey and the Hopewell region. The history of bottling includes the history of New Jersey immigration and the contributions of early German, Irish, Italian, Eastern European and Jewish immigrants. Jerry will also discuss the bottling business itself and its evolution over a hundred-year period from a low-tech to a high-tech industry. Co-sponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society and The Hopewell Museum with the Hopewell Branch of the Mercer County Library​. Online webinar via GotoMeeting. Registration required at the following link: Bottling Industry of Central New Jersey.

Were you ever curious about who was buried where in a cemetery jam-packed with old gravestones? In this online talk, Jim Lee and Alexis Alemy, archaeologists at Hunter research, will demonstrate cutting edge methods to document and map historic burial grounds, drawing on studies of abandoned Methodist cemeteries across New Jersey. They'll explore the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones) and geographic information system (GIS) technology to organize and process cemetery data into an interactive map. Some of these methods have been applied to document graves in the well-maintained Pennington African Cemetery.

Registration required. Cosponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society and The Hopewell Museum with the Pennington Public Library. Registration at the following link: Who Lies Where?

J.R. May, president of Melvin M. May Associates, will describe the rescue and restoration efforts of Trenton Trolley #288. This trolley was found embedded in a Hamilton, NJ home in the process of demolition. The trolley was rescued and is now the in process of an intense restoration project. May will discuss the discovery of the car, its history, efforts to develop drawings of missing elements, and opportunities for the public to volunteer. The talk will also mention inspiration and experience gained from the restoration of a Pennsylvania RR 1915 N6b caboose, a “cabin car” similar to the 288.

J.R. May has a longstanding commitment to the history of railway and trolley transportation. He has volunteered for the New Jersey Museum of Transportation (NJMT) in various capacities since 1972, working on a range of acquisitions, restoration projects, and hands-on operating and maintenance activities, and serving as Chairman of the Board of NJMT from 2000 to 2004.

Online presentation co-sponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society and The Hopewell Museum with the Hopewell Branch of the Mercer County Library.

Registration required. Register at the Mercer County Library.