Recent Programs - 2020
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Hopewell Valley Historical Society regularly sponsors community programs on local history, often in partnership with the Hopewell Museum and the Pennington Library. These programs typically are free and open to the public.
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"Stranger Stop and Cast an Eye":
An Introduction to New Jersey’s Historic Burial Grounds
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Sun., July 19, 2020 - 3 pm EDT
Internet Webinar via Zoom Registration Required - See below Far from being scary, spooky places, New Jersey’s historic burial grounds are treasure troves of information for historians, genealogists, archaeologists, and art historians. This richly illustrated presentation examines New Jersey historic cemeteries from High Point to Cape May. It provides a chronological overview of New Jersey’s historic burial places from the colonial period to the present. Exceptional examples of colonial, Victorian, and modern memorials are all presented and discussed. Audiences leave with a new appreciation for gravemarkers and burial places as important sources of information about local history. Richard Veit, Ph.D. is Professor of Anthropology and Associate Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Monmouth University. Rich is a North American historical archaeologist whose research focuses on the Middle Atlantic Region between the late 17th and early 19th centuries. His work focuses on commemoration, symbolism, vernacular architecture, and military sites archaeology. He has authored or co-authored numerous articles and reviews and eight books including Digging New Jersey’s Past: Historical Archaeology in the Garden State (Rutgers Press 2002), New Jersey Cemeteries and Tombstones History in the Landscape (co-authored by Mark Nonestied, Rutgers Press 2008), and New Jersey: A History of the Garden State (co-authored with Maxine Lurie, Rutgers Press 2012). In 2007 he was the recipient of Monmouth University’s distinguished teacher award. He regularly presents on topics relating to historical archaeology and New Jersey history and has been a TED speaker. Co-sponsored by Pennington Public Library, Hopewell Valley Historical Society, and The Hopewell Museum, and made possible in part by a New Jersey Historical Commission history regrant from the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission. Registration Required: PenningtonLibrary.org/NJBurialGrounds |
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Richard Veit
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Trenton’s Urban Renewal and the Struggle for Community
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Sun., June 14, 2020 - 3 pm
Pennington Library Internet Webinar via Zoom Registration Required - See Below Lifelong Pennington resident Jordan Antebi will present stories from his award-winning thesis “Bridging the Divide: Citizen Participation Versus Urban Renewal and the Struggle for Community,” which studied civic actors in Trenton, NJ who opposed Urban Renewal. Jordan’s thesis chronicles a turbulent time locally and nationally during the 1950s and 60s. Using “documented experiences of ordinary residents and business owners,” this talk will highlight the interconnectedness of a so-called “divided” community and its protests of social engineering. Jordan Antebi was the 2019 recipient of the Paul A. Stellhorn New Jersey History Award, recognizing outstanding undergraduate scholarship and writing about a subject in the state’s history. Jordan received his A.B. degree in history from Princeton University cum laude in June 2019. His thesis also won the C.O. Joline Prize in American History and the Dean Hank Dobin Prize in Community Based Scholarship, as well as the Stellhorn Award. Registration Required (and more info): PenningtonLibrary.org/urbantrenton |
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Amazing New Jersey: People and Places of the Garden State
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Sun., June 7, 2020 - 3 pm
Pennington Library Webinar via Zoom Registration Required - See Below The New Jersey colony dates from the middle of the 17th century when Dutch and English settlers bought land from the native Lenapes. For over 350 years, New Jersey has played a pivotal economic and historical role in the United States. With regions as different from one another as the Shore and the Skylands, New Jersey offers residents and tourists delightful and informative experiences everywhere. In this talk, Rick Geffken offers his perspectives on the state’s history. featuring historical events, famous and infamous people – entertainers, politicians, and entrepreneurs – highlighted by many evocative images of locations throughout New Jersey. Rick Geffken has written numerous books including: Highland Beach, Gateway to the Jersey Shore, 1888-1962 with Chris Brenner, and Lost Amusement Parks of the North Jersey Shore with George Severini. He expects to publish Slave Stories from New Jersey in late 2020. He is a Trustee of the Shrewsbury Historical Society; Past-president and a Trustee of the Jersey Coast Heritage Museum at Sandlass House; and a member of the Monmouth County Historical Association. Registration Required (and more info): PenningtonLibrary.org/amazingnj |
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Click image to play video introducing Lost Amusement Parks of the North Jersey Shore
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Hopewell Valley History Project: Discover Local History from Home
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Sun., May 17, 2020 - 3 pm
Webinar via Zoom Registration Required - See Below The Hopewell Valley History Project (HopewellHistoryProject.org) is a new effort to collect and save our local heritage in digital form, where you can find over 150 primary references, including historic books, documents, maps, and aerial images. We also have collected over 650 historic images, and developed a prototype Hopewell History Map so you can interactively explore historic and current-day properties, along with associated images and documents. This presentation will briefly explain the background of this work and provide a tour of the materials that are currently available, and then walk through an example historic investigation focusing on public libraries in Hopewell. Join us to explore the possibilities of this work for your own history questions. And please take a look around your home to see if there are other materials that you could contribute to this effort. Douglas Dixon is an independent technology consultant and writer. Doug created the History Project and developed its websites. He is a board member of the Hopewell Valley Historical Society. Co-sponsored by Pennington Public Library, Hopewell Valley Historical Society, and The Hopewell Museum, and made possible in part by a New Jersey Historical Commission history regrant from the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission. Registration Required (and more info): PenningtonLibrary.org/HopewellHistoryProject |
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Tales of Blawenburg
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Sat., March 7, 2020 - 2 pm
Blawenburg Church, 424 Route 518, Skillman, NJ 08558 Free and open to the public The Van Harlingen Historical Society and Blawenburg Church present a free afternoon of history for the community. A multimedia presentation by local educator and author David Cochran will chronicle several periods in the history of Blawenburg. Also self-guided tours of the 1830 sanctuary, and Blawenburg history exhibits. More information. |
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Kickoff Event to Celebrate Hopewell Township’s 320th Anniversary
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Sun., Feb. 23, 2020 - Activities begin 1 pm, talks at 2:30 pm
Hopewell Township Municipal Complex 201 Washington Crossing-Pennington Road, Titusville, NJ 08560 Free and open to the public, all welcome
Three historians and local residents, Ian Burrow, Richard Hunter, and Joseph Klett, will co-present on the founding of Hopewell as a kick-off to the 320th anniversary of the creation of Hopewell Township (founded on February 20, 1700). The event will be held on February 23, 2020, in the auditorium of the Hopewell Township Municipal Complex, located at 201 Washington Crossing-Pennington Road, Titusville NJ 08560. In the event of bad weather, the event will be postponed to March 1, 2020. The activities begin at 1 PM, and the talk will occur at 2:30 PM. Ian Burrow is an archaeologist, conservationist, and former partner in Hunter Research, Inc., Trenton, N.J. He will discuss the local Delaware (Lenape) Indians, and what is known about their culture, sites, trails, and interaction with the first European settlers. He will discuss the 1688/1689 purchase and survey of the 30,000-acre Hopewell tract by Dr. Daniel Coxe, and the items paid to the Indian representatives in exchange for the land. Richard Hunter is current president of Hopewell Valley Historical Society, and Principal of Hunter Research, Inc., a Trenton-based historic preservation consulting firm. He will discuss the geography of the “valley” and how this determined the pattern of European settlement (and to a lesser extent, Native American settlement). He will address landforms, rivers, soil fertility, and the evolution of roads, the canal and railroads, water power, mill sites, and extractive industries. Joseph Klett is president of The Hopewell Museum and Executive Director of the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton. He will speak about the establishment of Hopewell Township, which originally included the present-day township as well as Pennington and Hopewell boroughs, Ewing Township, and much of Trenton. He will also discuss the process and sources involved in a map of Old Hopewell and Vicinity, 1680-1720, currently in development for the Museum and Historical Society by himself and others. Hopewell Township's founding documents (held by the State Archives) will be on display for the event. These include the 1688 Indian deed, the 1689 Coxe survey, the 1700 court book establishing the township, and Hopewell's 1755 royal charter. Original New Jersey wampum will also be exhibited, as well as the current draft of the map noted above and other materials illustrating the purchase of the Hopewell tract. Activities for children K-8 are planned which center around wampum, the polished shell beads used by Native Americans and Europeans in early colonial times both as money, for ceremonial pledges, and for personal decoration. We will string “fathoms” of wampum, and learn how to exchange them for other trade goods. In order for us to better plan the activities, please RSVP to hvhist@aol.com to tell us you are coming (requested, but not required). This program is made possible, in part, by a New Jersey Historical Commission history regrant from the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission. This event is co-sponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society, The Hopewell Museum and Hopewell Township. |
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Ian Burrow
Richard Hunter
Joseph Klett
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