| Last Updated: Dec 31st, 2008 |
| History and Hopewell Facts |
|
City Point, the oldest part of Hopewell, was founded in 1613 by Sir
Thomas Dale. City Point's location on a bluff overlooking the
James and Appomattox Rivers has been an important factor in Hopewell's
history for almost four centuries.
The tiny colonial village of City Point saw the Revolutionary War
fought on its banks. Later, in 1864-1865, General Ulysses S.
Grant directed the 10-month Siege of Petersburg from the grounds of
Appomattox Plantation. This historic home is now part of the City
Point Unit of Petersburg National Battlefield.
Hopewell was developed by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware in
1914. This company first built a dynamite factory and then
switched to the manufacture of guncotton during World War I.
Although DuPont left Hopewell after the war, many manufacturing giants
have since located in the city. These companies include: Honeywell, Degussa Goldschmidt, Smurfit-Stone, and Hercules.
Products as diverse as the first automatic dishwasher, the first Kraft
paper and cardboard boxes, china and artificial silk have been
manufactured in Hopewell.
Since its founding, Hopewell, named after an English ship, has
continued its British ties by twinning with the City of Ashford, Kent,
England.
Hopewell has received the Governor's Clean City Award and is noted for its landscaping and beautification.
For more information, please call (800) 863-8687 or (804) 541-2461.
Oral History Project
Archaeology Project at City Point
Beyond City Point
early 1600s - English settlement at "Bermuda City," somewhere between City
Point and Broadway Landing-as many as 119 people according to John
Rolfe.
1700s - Tobacco warehouses at City Point.
1781 - Part of Benedict Arnold's expedition of British troops passes through City Point.
Early 1800s - City Point becomes a port of entry with a U.S. Customs office.
The area's post office moves to City Point from across the river at
Bermuda Hundred.
1826 - Town of City Point is incorporated (the lot at 500 Prince Henry Street is within these old town limits).
1836-1850s - City Point Railroad Company forms and soon begins to operate one
of the nation's earliest lines, between City Point and Petersburg.
1840 - Town population 300.
1862 - Union
naval officers are ambushed after coming ashore to give medical aid to
civilians. Small skirmish with Confederate soldiers occurs.
1864 - General
Butler's Army of the James occupies the area. Commanding General
Ulysses S. Grant sets up his headquarters at Appomattox Manor. As the
Union army lays siege to nearby Petersburg, City Point temporarily
becomes one the busiest ports in the entire world. Union army also sets
up a 6,000 bed hospital.
1864, 1865 - Presidential visits from Abraham Lincoln.
1870 - City Point becomes a small town again, with only 300 residents.
late 1800s - Short-lived sturgeon packing plant.
1910 - Population still about 300.
1912 - E.I.
DuPont de Nemours Co. buys 800 acres at nearby Hopewell Farm. Seeking
to build a dynamite plant, the company is attracted by the good deep
port and rail facilities.
1914 - DuPont
buys 1600 acres of the Eppes estate and builds the largest guncotton
plant in the world: instant boom town.
1915 - Fire destroys 300 buildings; quick rebuilding. 40,000 employed in Hopewell.
1916 - City of Hopewell incorporated.
1918 - End of World War I; guncotton plant shuts down.
1920s - Other
industries, such as artificial silk (Tubize) and chemical manufacturing
(ANCO, now Allied Chemical) replace DuPont.
1942 - Camp Lee, next to Hopewell, has military population of 45,000.
1980 - Hopewell population 23,400.
| Making the American Dream Work |
|
A Cultural History of African Americans in Hopewell, Virginia
A compact
collection of historic sites and personal stories illuminate life for
African Americans in the city of Hopewell. Its location, at the
confluence of the Appomattox and James Rivers, twenty-four miles
southeast of Richmond, enabled its predecessor, City Point to become a
thriving trade center. Hopewell's history spans 400 years and includes
Algonquian-speaking Indians, Europeans and Africans. Despite wars,
disasters, the influx of enslaved people, military personnel and
immigrants, City Point and later the city of Hopewell has endured and
in fact embodies the pursuit of the American Dream. This study
illustrates how a disfranchised and discriminated group of people have
continually pushed themselves and others to actualize and enjoy all
that the American Dream has come to symbolize. In 2004 the Hopewell
city council commissioned the African American oral history project.
During the spring and summer of 2005, the author, Lauranett Lee, Ph.D.,
interviewed twelve citizens ranging from former students and teachers,
school administrators and ministers, as well as parents and community
volunteers who shared their stories. In addition, eight state and
nationally recognized historic landmarks highlight Hopewell's cultural
history. They are: Kippax Plantation Archeological Site, Appomattox
Manor, Weston Manor, City Point National Cemetery, City Point Historic
District, Downtown Hopewell Historic District, Beacon Theatre, and
Hopewell Municipal Building. Two maps, one of the precinct wards and
another of the historic sites, as well as an index enable readers to
easily locate boundaries, markers and subject matter. In addition to
images of the interviewees, twenty-eight photographs enliven the
text. The endnotes and bibliography provide information for further
study.
In the city of Hopewell, Making the American Dream Work can be purchased at the following outlets:
Historic Hopewell Foundation, Inc., Weston Manor Gift Shop
400 Weston Lane
(804) 458-4682
Monday through Saturday from 10-4:30 and Sunday 1-4:30
The Hopewell Visitor Center
4100 Oaklawn Boulevard
(804) 541-2461 or 1 (800) 863-8687
Monday-Sunday from 9-5 am
John Randolph Medical Center Gift Shop
411 West Randolph Road
(804) 541-7720
Monday-Saturday from 9-4:30 and Sun 12:30- 4:30
Various online booksellers also carry Making the American Dream Work: A Cultural History of African Americans in Hopewell, Virginia
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