Hopewell Junction’s post office opened in 1870, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
Most of Hopewell Junction was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2013. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1893 on, and old-book passages.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hopewell Junction. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1893Poughkeepsie sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hopewell Junction.
The story so far
Hopewell Junction, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Hopewell Junction yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Hopewell Junction is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 1330 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area as well as the larger New York metropolitan area. Hopewell Junction is located within the town of East Fishkill. It was originally a railroad junction where the Newburgh, Dutchess and Connecticut Railroad met the New York and New England Railroad and Dutchess County Railroad. All three became part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad system, and the ND&C to the southwest and the NY&NE are now owned by the Housatonic Railroad and used by Metro-North for equipme…
Its first post office opened in 1870. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 376 to 1,330 (+254%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Hopewell Junction in 1909
Passages that mention Hopewell Junction, cut from the printed page as they were published.
of the powerful New York, New Haven & Hartford system. Meantime, soon after the completion of the bridge a railroad was built from Poughkeepsie to Hopewell Junction, connecting the bridge with the Highland division of the New York, New Haven & Hartford, previously the New York and New England Railroad. It is this branch which now carries the bulk of the business. One of the first results of the consoUdation with the New Haven road was the running of the Highland division passenger trains to Poughkeepsie instead of Fish-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Dutchess County, New York1909 · page 759Read the page →
Read the text
R. Co. In 1857 Mr. Rapelje purchased a farm in the town of East Fishkill upon which the village of Hopewell Junction was subsequently built. In addition to his agricultural pursuits he became interested in many public enterprises. He was one of the organizers and early directors of the Poughkeepsie Bridge Co., the Dutchess & Columbia R. R. Co., a director of the Dutchess Mutual Insurance Co., etc.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Hopewell Junction, 1876 to 2005
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1876
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