Hopewell is a borough in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Centrally located within the Raritan Valley region, this historical settlement (and its neighboring township of the same name) is an exurban commuter suburb of New York City in the New York metropolitan area as defined by the United States Census Bureau.Capuzzo, Jill P. "Living In Hopewell, N.J.: It’s in New Jersey, but It Screams Vermont", The New York Times, November 18, 2007. Accessed November 28, 2023. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 1,918, a decrease of 4 (−0.2%) from the 2010 census count of 1,922, which in turn had reflected a decline of 113 (−5.6%) from the 2,035 counted at the 2000 census.Table 7. Population for the Counties and Municipalities in New Jersey: 1990, 2000 and 2010, New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, February 2011. Accessed May 1, 2023.

Hopewell was incorporated as by 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.Snyder, John P. The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 162. Accessed May 29, 2024.

History

Colonial era The Lenape tribe of Native Americans were the original inhabitants of the area that would later become Hopewell.History and Historic Sites , Hopewell Borough. Accessed November 27, 2019. The first Colonial influence in Hopewell by European settlers was the purchase of a tract of land by Daniel Coxe a Royal British governor of West Jersey, in the latter half of the 17th century. All land in Hopewell can be traced back to this purchase.Seabrook, Jack and Lorraine. Images of America Hopewell Valley, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC, 2000. , pg. 19. "This and all other farms in Hopewell Valley could be traced all the way back to Daniel Coxe, original owner of the tract that was to become Hopewell Township." In 1691 Coxe, transferred his land to a company called The West Jersey Society of England, who intended to sell the land.Ege, Ralph Pioneers of Old Hopewell (1908), Race & Savidge, Hopewell, NJ, pg. 15. "In the year 1691, Dr. Daniel Coxe transferred the right of government of West Jersey to a company of proprietaries called 'The West Jersey Society of England,' for a valuable consideration." The society appointed an agent, Thomas Revell, to preside over the land and sell it to prospective buyers.Ege, Ralph. Pioneers of Old Hopewell (1908), Race & Savidge, Hopewell, NJ, p. 15. "This society appointed Thomas Revell their agent, and he claimed the right to sell lands and give deeds for the same in the name of the society." Revell then attracted settlers from New England, Long Island, and New Jersey falsely claiming that the land was fertile, and tame. However, the families that arrived in Hopewell only found vast stretches of wilderness.Ege, Ralph Pioneers of Old Hopewell (1908), Race & Savidge, Hopewell, NJ, pg 15. "Great inducements were held out to the New England and Long Island settlers as well as to those of the older portions of this state… to avail themselves of the cheap and fertile lands of the tract, and scores of them were induced to come and settle, only to find that after they had subdued the wilderness and established their homes, that their titles were utterly worthless." The first settler in Hopewell Valley was Thomas Tindall who on November 10, 1699, bought a tract of land from The West Jersey Society of England through Revell, for "ten pounds per hundred acres".Ege, Ralph Pioneers of Old Hopewell (1908), Race & Savidge, Hopewell, NJ, pg 13-14. "This Houghton tract was surveyed by Thomas Revell, agent for the West Jersey Society, for Thomas Tindall, on February 27, 1696, and was without doubt the first farm located in the Hopewell Valley. On November 10, 1699, a deed was given by Thomas Revell, agent for 'Ye Honorable The West Jersey Society in England' of the one part, and Thomas Tindall of the other part, for the above tract, the consideration being 'ten pounds per hundred acres,' or fifty cents per acre in US currency, which was the regulation price for all the societies lands of the 30,000-acre tract. The above deed describes the as a part of the 30,000-acre tract 'lying above ye fialls of ye Delaware.'" Other early settlers in Hopewell are said to be the Stouts, who immigrated from Holmdel to Hopewell in 1706, including Jonathan Stout, who had hunted in the area together with the Lenape.Griffiths, Thomas Sharp, 'A History of Baptists in New Jersey'(1904), Barr Press Publishing Company, Hightstown, New Jersey, Ch. 5, pg 67, "Jonathan Stout, third son of Richard Stout, of Holmdel, a constituent of Middletown Church and who emigrated from Middletown (Holmdel) in 1706, the first settler of Hopewell" Perhaps the first conflict between colonists in Hopewell was the dispute between Revell and the early inhabitants of Hopewell, who realized that their deeds were worthless due to Revell's false claims. Fifty settlers then organized a class action lawsuit against Revell and the West Jersey Society. A lengthy trial was held in Burlington and the court ultimately ruled against the settlers, who were forced to repurchase their land or relocate. Many settlers weren't able to repay and moved north into North Jersey and New York.Ege, Ralph Pioneers of Old Hopewell (1908), Race & Savidge, Hopewell, NJ. "Fifty of these settlers (among whom is found the name of Thomas Houghton) entered into a solemn compact to stand by each other in a law suit with Dr. Coxe. After a long and tedious trial at Burlington, the case was decided against them, and this verdict caused the most distressing state of affairs in this township that was ever experienced in any community. Writs of ejectment had been served on them as 'tenants' of Dr. Coxe to pay for their lands the second time or 'quit.' Many of them went to the northern part of the county which at that time extended to the New York state line, the county of Hunterdon, including Warren, Morris and Sussex counties, and an examination of the records of those counties between 1735 and 1750, will reveal many names that are familiar to the people of old Hopewell."

On April 23, 1715, the settlers who stayed in Hopewell, most notably the Stout family, organized the Old School Baptist Church, and what is now known as Hopewell was then referred to as "Baptist Meetinghouse".Griffiths, Thomas Sharp, 'A History of Baptists in New Jersey'(1904), Barr Press Publishing Company, Hightstown, New Jersey, Ch. 5, pg 67, "The Church was organized at Mr. Stout's house, April 23rd, 1715, and worshipped for thirty-two years in the homes of the Stouts"Valis, Glenn John Hart Signer of the Declaration of Independence', Accessed November 19, 2012. "Until well after the revolution, the area was thereafter call Baptist Meeting House." One of the most valued members of the meeting house was Declaration of Independence signer John Hart who in 1740 purchased of land in the north of current day Hopewell, and in 1747 as a sign of Hart's devotion to the Church, donated a plot of his land to the Baptists.Valis, Glenn 'John Hart Signer of the Declaration of Independence', Accessed November 19, 2012. "Around 1739-1740 John Hart bought the "homestead plantation" of on the north side of what is now the town of Hopewell".History and Historic Sites , Hopewell Borough. Accessed January 9, 2017. "The first church (Baptist Church) was constructed in 1748". The next year the Baptists made good use of this land and in 1748 erected their Old School Baptist Church meeting house on West Broad Street. The meeting house brought in Baptists from miles around to Hopewell and encouraged Hopewell's early growth.Seabrook, Jack and Lorraine. Images of America Hopewell Valley, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC, 2000. , pg 38, "The Old School Baptist Church... was a center for baptist from miles around.... Constructed in 1822, the building still stands... On West Broad Street"

Numerous lumber mills were established in and around Hopewell at this time to process the lumber that was generated from the clearing of forests for farms.

In 1756, Isaac Eaton the first pastor of the Old School Baptist Church established the Hopewell Academy. One of his students, James Manning, would go on to establish Brown University in 1765.Capuzzo, Jill P. "It's in New Jersey, but It Screams Vermont", The New York Times, November 18, 2007. Accessed June 1, 2015. "In 1756, the country's first Baptist secondary school, Hopewell Baptist Academy, was started here. Its graduates went on to found what became Brown University in Rhode Island."

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"The Delaware and Bound Brook Railroad", Gillette On Hillsborough, March 17, 2021. Accessed October 15, 2023. "On June 30, 1871, the Pennsylvania Railroad signed a 999-year lease with the United Companies allowing them to run trains over their tracks, but basically nothing else." and has become the CSX Trenton Line and is still in use today. The Frog is also what gives Hopewell Elementary school its mascot, "Freddy the Frog" in honor of the Hopewell frog war.HVRSD Elementary Schools Welcome Students on First Day of School , Hopewell Valley Regional School District. Accessed September 2, 2015. "Hopewell Elementary School's mascot Freddie the Frog poses with kindergartener Chase Garrow."

The Hopewell Herald The main source of news for Hopewell Township prior to the 1960s was the Hopewell Herald, which was owned, operated, and published by the Savidge family of Hopewell.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 0.72 square miles (1.87 km2), all of which was land.

The borough is an independent municipality surrounded entirely by Hopewell Township,Areas touching Hopewell, MapIt. Accessed January 9, 2017. making it part one of 21 pairs of "doughnut towns" in the state, where one municipality entirely surrounds another.DeMarco, Megan. "Voters to decide whether to merge two Princetons into one", The Star-Ledger, November 3, 2011. Accessed January 8, 2017. "There are 22 sets of 'doughnut towns' in New Jersey, those where one town wraps around the other town". Note that following voter approval of the Princeton, New Jersey, merger, 21 pairs of "doughnut towns" remain.Municipalities within Mercer County, NJ, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. Accessed November 15, 2019.New Jersey Municipal Boundaries, New Jersey Department of Transportation. Accessed November 15, 2019.

Demographics

2020 census