One-hour walking tour by Doug Dixon exploring the historic buildings and industrial development of Railroad Place in Hopewell Borough.

The arrival of the railroad, and the construction of the Hopewell train station in 1876, spurred the growth of the small village into a full-fledged town where people wanted to live and work and grow. This heritage is still visible today in the streetscapes that we think of as the historical look of Hopewell.

In this tour, Doug Dixon explores how local boosters also saw a greater opportunity along Railroad Place to develop an industrial district that supported larger-scale manufacturing that could provide good jobs and stronger growth. These efforts resulted in the Chocolate Factory (manufacturing bon-bons for 25 years), the Tomato Factory (canning tomatoes for 55 years), J. B. Hill’s (coal and then lumber for over a century), and Rockwell Manufacturing (back to Smith Novelty in the early 1900s).

Along the way, we also will see how this development encouraged (and still supports) a variety of other smaller businesses, including luncheonettes, garages, taxi companies, clothing stores, and gift shops.

Two one-hour walking tours on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at 11 am and 2 pm.

Doug Dixon is an independent technology consultant and writer, now morphed into a local historian, and board member of the Hopewell Museum and the Hopewell Valley Historical Society. He also created and runs the all-volunteer Hopewell Valley History Project, working with locals to collect and digitize and freely share our local history online (HopewellHistoryProject.org).

To register please use the link below.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/historic-railroad-place-walking-tour-1876-2026-tickets-1997424305868?aff=oddtdtcreator