Mapping Old Hopewell, 1680 through 1720 - Joseph Klett (12/2020)

Mapping Old Hopewell, 1680 through 1720 Joseph Klett, President, The Hopewell Museum Joseph Klett, current president of The Hopewell Museum and director of the New Jersey State Archives, discusses the research and challenges in developing a map of "Old Hopewell and Vicinity" for the 1680-1720 period. Joe discusses the founding of Hopewell Township 320 years ago, when it encompassed the three Hopewell Valley municipalities as well as Ewing and most of Trenton, and the location of known Native American sites, the first Europeans' homesteads and their churches. Sources at the Museum, State Archives, and other repositories are highlighted. Video Overview 0:00 - Overview of the map and founding of Hopewell Township 7:00 - Native American trails, and roads before 1720 8:40 - Native American villages 12:25 - European family settlements & Maidenhead (Lawrenceville) 15:00 - Early churches 18:40 - Slavery 20:00 - Sources - land records, books, road maps, road returns, tax lists, church history, probate records 28:45 - Title issues - Proprietors of West New Jersey References (available at the Hopewell Museum) Hopewell, A Historical Geography, Richard Hunter and Richard Porter (1990) Pioneers of Old Hopewell, Ralph Ege (1908; 1963) The Town Records of Hopewell, New Jersey, Colonial Dames (1931)