Hopewell, New Jersey

:"See also:" Hopewell Township, Mercer County, New Jersey

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Hopewell, New Jersey
settlement_type = Borough
nickname =
motto =

imagesize =
image_caption =


image_

---

mapsize = 250x200px
map_caption = Hopewell highlighted in Mercer County. Inset



mapsize1 =
map_caption1 =

subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = New Jersey
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Mercer
government_footnotes =
government_type = Borough (New Jersey)
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Paul Anzano
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
established_title =
established_date =

unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =

area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 1.8
area_land_km2 = 1.8
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_total_sq_mi = 0.7
area_land_sq_mi = 0.7
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 2035
population_density_km2 = 1144.3
population_density_sq_mi = 2963.7

timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 60
elevation_ft = 197
latd = 40 |latm = 23 |lats = 20 |latNS = N
longd = 74 |longm = 45 |longs = 50 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 08525
area_code = 609
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 34-33150GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0877244GR|3
website = http://www.hopewellboro-nj.us
footnotes =

Hopewell is a Borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 2,035.

Hopewell was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 14, 1891, from portions of Hopewell Township, based on the results of a referendum held on March 21, 1891. Additional portions of Hopewell Township were annexed in 1915, and the borough was reincorporated in 1924."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 162.]

Hopewell was the town nearest to the estate owned by Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Their firstborn son, Charles Augustus Lindbergh III, was found dead near the town. See Lindbergh kidnapping for more information about the incident involving the Lindbergh child.

Hopewell Township, the much larger municipality which surrounds Hopewell Borough, includes the land along the east side of the Delaware River to which George Washington and the Continental Army crossed from Pennsylvania. Once in Hopewell Township, the army marched to Trenton on Christmas Day, 1776. The Battle of Trenton followed. Today, Washington Crossing State Park commemorates this important milestone in American history.

Geography

Hopewell is located at coor dms|40|23|20|N|74|45|50|W|city (40.389005, -74.764010)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²), all of it land.

Hopewell Borough is an independent municipality surrounded entirely by Hopewell Township.

Demographics

USCensusPop
1930= 1467
1940= 1678
1950= 1869
1960= 1928
1970= 2271
1980= 2001
1990= 1968
2000= 2035
estimate= 2022
estyear=2006
estref= [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=16000US3433150&_geoContext=01000US%7C04000US34%7C16000US3431620&_street=&_county=hopewell&_cityTown=hopewell&_state=04000US34&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&_submenuId=population_0&ds_name=null&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry= Census data for Hopewell borough] , United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 3, 2007.]
footnote=Population 1930 - 1990. [ [http://www.wnjpin.net/OneStopCareerCenter/LaborMarketInformation/lmi01/poptrd6.htm New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990] , Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. Accessed March 1, 2007.] As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 2,035 people, 813 households, and 561 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,963.7 people per square mile (1,138.7/km²). There were 836 housing units at an average density of 1,217.5/sq mi (467.8/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 95.43% White, 1.08% African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.98% Asian, 1.23% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.31% of the population.

There were 813 households out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the borough the population was spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $77,270, and the median income for a family was $91,205. Males had a median income of $52,656 versus $47,315 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $38,413. None of the families and 2.1% of the population were living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 5.2% of those over 64.

Government

Local government

Hopewell is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year. ["2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book", Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2005, p. 73.] All legislative powers of the Borough of Hopewell are exercised by the Borough Council. These powers can take the form of a resolution, ordinance or proclamation. [ [http://www.hopewellboro-nj.us/cms/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=51&Itemid=82 Borough Government] , Borough of Hopewell. Accessed October 10, 2006.]

Paul Anzano is the Mayor of Hopewell (term expires December 31, 2011). Members of the Borough Council are Council President David Knights (2009), Sean Jackson (2010), David Mackie (2010), C. Schuyler Morehouse (2008), Mark Samse (2009) and Robert Lewis (2008). [ [http://www.hopewellboro-nj.us/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=48 Hopewell Borough Council] , Borough of Hopewell. Accessed June 29, 2008.]

Federal, state and county representation

Hopewell is in the Twelfth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 15th Legislative District. [ [http://www.lwvnj.org/pubs/CG06.pdf 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government] , New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 59. Accessed August 30, 2006]

Education

Public school students in kindergarten through twelfth grade attend the Hopewell Valley Regional School District, a comprehensive regional public school district serving nearly 4,000 students from Hopewell Borough (371 students), Hopewell Township (2,998 students), and Pennington Borough (497 students). Elementary school students from Hopewell Borough attend Hopewell Elementary School.

Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics [ [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3407530 Data for the Hopewell Valley Regional School District] , National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed March 11, 2008.] ) include four Elementary Schools (K-5) — [http://www.hvrsd.k12.nj.us/beartavern Bear Tavern Elementary School] with 532 students, [http://www.hvrsd.k12.nj.us/hopewell Hopewell Elementary School] with 522 students, [http://www.hvrsd.k12.nj.us/stonybrook Stony Brook Elementary School] with 522 students, [http://www.hvrsd.k12.nj.us/tollgate Toll Gate Grammar School] with 310 students — [http://www.hvrsd.k12.nj.us/timberlane Timberlane Middle School] with 952 students in grades 6 -8, and Hopewell Valley Central High School, which has an enrollment of 1,152 students in grades 9 - 12.

History

Frog war

The first railroad to reach Hopewell was the Mercer and Somerset Railway, which was backed by the Pennsylvania Railroad. It was created largely to protect the monopoly the Pennsylvania Railroad had on New Jersey, by cutting off the first separately owned railroad in New Jersey, the Delaware and Bound Brook Railroad, by being built in the way of it. It was completed in 1874. The Delaware and Bound Brook reached Hopewell in 1876, but the railroad had to cross the Mercer and Somerset's track just to the northwest of Hopewell. A dispute occurred at the crossing known as a Frog, and escalated into each company parking Locomotives over the crossing to prevent the other company from moving trains over it. Eventually Militia had to be called in to keep the peace, and the Delaware and Bound Brook prevailed. [Railroads of New Jersey Fragments of the past in the Garden State Landscape Lorett Treese 2006] Soon after the Frog War the Mercer and Somerset was liquidated having failed at its purpose. Some of the abandoned right of way for the Mercer and Somerset in Hopewell became Model Avenue. The Delaware and Bound Brook was leased by the Philadelphia and Reading in 1879 for 999 years, and has become the CSX Trenton Line and is still in use today. The Frog was is also what gives Hopewell Elementary school it mascot, a "Frog" in honor of the Hopewell frog war [http://www.hvrsd.k12.nj.us/hopewell/home/welcome2.html] .

Transportation

Roads

Hopewell has four major roads that travel through it. Route 518 Enters Hopewell from due west having come from Lambertville and then turns slightly northward, joining West Broad St. Route 518 then runs through Hopewell and exits Hopewell in the East and heads towards Rocky Hill. Pennington Hopewell Road enters Hopewell from roughly the southwest, and immediately becomes West Broad street when it enters Hopewell. It connects Hopewell with Pennington to the south. Princeton Avenue starts at Broad Street and continues south and becomes Hopewell Princeton Road, and connects Hopewell with Princeton. Greenwood Avenue runs north out of Hopewell and connects Hopewell with Amwell

Rail

New Jersey Transit has been planing to restore passenger commuter rail service to Hopewell for several years. New Jersey Transit plans on using the existing one track right of way that CSX owns through Hopewell, the former four track Reading Company Trenton Line. The proposed plan includes double tracking most of the CSX line to increase capacity, and construction a new rail station on somerset street instead of using the more than one hundred year old Delaware and Bound brook structure. The line would connect Hopewell with New York City, as well as Philadelphia via a SEPTA connection in West Trenton [New Jersey Transit system expansion [http://www.njtransit.com/tm/tm_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=Project016To] ] and restore service to Hopewell which ended in 1982. [ [http://railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8100&start=0 RAILROAD.NET • View topic - West Trenton Line Article ] ]

Notable residents

*John Hart, signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. His grave is located in the First Baptist Church graveyard on Broad Street. [ [http://www.barefootsworld.net/johnhart.html JOHN HART: Signer Of The Declaration Of Independence for New Jersey - A Biography] , accessed April 17, 2007. "John Hart lived in Hopewell Township, in what is now the town of Hopewell, which was then known locally as Baptist Meeting House, for the church there."]
*James W. Marshall, sawmill operator, whose 1848 discovery of gold in the American River in California set the stage for the California Gold Rush. [ [http://www.biblio.com/books/12534742.html From Mexican Days to Gold Rush: Memoirs of...Who Grew Up with California. Edited by Doyce B. Nunis, Jr by Marshall, James Wilson & Edward Gould Buffum] , accessed April 17, 2007. "Marshall was born at Hopewell, NJ, went to California in 1845, participated in the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt, and discovered gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848."]

References

External links

* [http://www.hopewellboro-nj.us/cms/ Hopewell Borough web site]
* [http://www.hvrsd.k12.nj.us/district/index.htm Hopewell Valley School District]
*NJReportCard|21|2280|0|Hopewell Valley Regional School District
* [http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=3407530 Data for the Hopewell Valley Regional School District] , National Center for Education Statistics
* [http://www.hopewellgop.org/ Hopewell Valley Republicans]
* [http://www.hioo1.smugmug.com/Photos%20Around%20Hopewell%20NJ Photos from Around Hopewell]