Hopewell Valley is a group of communities in
Mercer County,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...
loosely affiliated through municipal service sharing agreements, all of which send their students to the
Hopewell Valley Regional School District.
The area referred to as Hopewell Valley comprises the township of
Hopewell (
2000 census population of 16,105), the Borough of
Hopewell (2,035), the Borough of
Pennington (2,696), and the unincorporated
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, su ...
Titusville (which is within Hopewell Township).
The school district includes four elementary schools (Hopewell Elementary, Toll Gate Grammar, Bear Tavern, and the recently opened Stony Brook Elementary School), a middle school (Timberlane Middle School) and a high school (
Hopewell Valley Central High School
Hopewell Valley Central High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school operating as part of the Hopewell Valley Regional School District that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Hopewell Borough, Hopewell Townshi ...
). Before regionalization of the school district in the 1950s, the high school was simply known as Central High School of Hopewell Township, and the moniker Central High School (sans the Hopewell Valley) persists to some extent in the state of New Jersey as the school's (albeit incorrect) official name.
Historic events
General
George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River
George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River occurred on the night of December 25–26, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, was the first move in a surprise attack organized by George Washington against Hessian (soldier), H ...
from Pennsylvania to New Jersey leading to the victory at the
Battle of Trenton
The Battle of Trenton was a small but pivotal American Revolutionary War battle on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. After General George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River north of Trenton the previous night, ...
on the morning of December 26, 1776 is commemorated at
Washington Crossing State Park
Washington Crossing State Park is a New Jersey state park that is part of Washington's Crossing, a U.S. National Historic Landmark area. It is located in the Washington Crossing and Titusville sections of Hopewell Township in Mercer County, ...
in Titusville. The crossing is re-enacted each year if the weather permits. Hopewell Valley is also the site of the notorious kidnapping of the
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...
infant in 1932.
Notable people
*
Peter Benchley
Peter Bradford Benchley (May 8, 1940 – February 11, 2006) was an American author, screenwriter, and ocean activist. He is known for his bestselling novel '' Jaws'' and co-wrote its film adaptation with Carl Gottlieb. Several more of his work ...
, who drew from the names of local streets and roads in creating the fictional town of Amity in his 1974 novel ''
Jaws
Jaws or Jaw may refer to:
Anatomy
* Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth
** Mandible, the lower jaw
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker''
* ...
''.
*
John Hart, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, lived in Hopewell Township. He is buried in Hopewell Borough.
Congressional biography of John Hart
accessed March 25, 2007
See also
* Ralstonism
References
{{coord, 40.38356, -74.80350, display=title
Hopewell Township, Mercer County, New Jersey
Hopewell
Pennington, New Jersey
Regions of New Jersey