Historic Happenings Blog

Friday, May 24 – Mercer County     On Friday, May 24, at 7:00 p.m. the Hopewell Valley Historical Society president and local  historian Larry Kidder will present a heavily illustrated program about the Carlisle Indian Industrial School and the students it placed with Hopewell Township farm families for either a summer or a full year as part of the controversial government effort to remove their Indian culture, and hopefully eliminate the all too popular belief that the only good Indian was a dead Indian. Over 200 young Indian men, mostly teenagers, from about 50 different tribes, spent time living in Hopewell during the 1880-1918 period this "outing" program was active. Mr. Kidder's presentation includes the stories of several individual Hopewell farm families and the Indians they sponsored. Those stories will also include information about the lives of the Indians before and after their time spent in Hopewell. This will be HVHS’s contributi...

Following the DNA Trail Wednesday, April 24, 2019, at 7 PM – 8 PM The Hopewell Museum 28 E Broad St, Hopewell, New Jersey 08525 Hosted by Hopewell Valley Historical Society and The Hopewell Museum April 24th at 7pm - Joseph R. 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.  This program is free, but seating is limited and will be first come, first served. Please note that Route 518 is closed for bridge construction between Aunt Molly Road and King’s Path in Hopewell. Please find alternative travel routes and allow extra time for the trip. The program will be held at the Hopewell Museum at 28 East Broad Street, Hopewell N...

January 20th, 2019 at 3:00pm –  Ere the Shadows Fade:  New Jersey’s Civil War Era Photographers presented by Gary Saretzky.  A joint program by The Hopewell Museum and the Hopewell Valley Historical Society, it will be presented in the Hill Gallery of The Hopewell Museum. The Museum is located at 28 East Broad Street, Hopewell, NJ. More than 3,000 professionals and serious amateurs were active in New Jersey in the 19th century, most of them in the larger towns and cities. The pr ofessionals provided their customers with images they could not make themselves before changes in technology made photography easier. These photographers had a range of life experiences similar to their portrait subjects. This slide lecture will profile selected photographers from Trenton, Lambertville, and Flemington, with samples of their work. Gary D. Saretzky, archivist, educator, and photographer, taught photography and the history of photography at Mercer County Community College from 1977 t...

Dear Friends of the Museum: Yes it is that time again, to invite you to The Hopewell Museum’s annual Holiday Tea and Open House! What an eventful year it has be en for us. There have been many wonderful developments, along with some sadness. As you may know, our curator David L. Blackwell passed away in April. His death was a great loss to the historical community in Hopewell Valley. David had been named the first Historian of Hopewell Township shortly before his untimely passing. More recently, our former curator Beverly Weidl died at the age of 88. Bev served on the Museum’s staff for nearly half a century, from 1969 to 2017. Also, longtime assistant curator Marie-Louise Kane retired in late spring, and longtime trustee Barbara Peterson retired from the Museum board in October. We recognize the dedication and legacies of these individuals. Yet this last year has also witnessed incredible enthusiasm and resiliency on the part of the Museum’s current staff, our curator/archivist Bonita...