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Hopewell post office 16650Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Hopewell

Hopewell’s post office opened in 1816, and 49% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1900.

1816first post office
0on the National Register
49%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Hopewell’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Hopewell began

When was Hopewell founded?

1816

The Hopewell post office opened in 1816, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1855.

First census: 482 in 19002020 census: 189210 years
Founding year: the first Hopewell post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1855.

What stands out about Hopewell’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19004 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1994. Watch Hopewell change.Boom and bustPeaked at 590 in 1910; 189 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Hopewell’s homes were built before 1943.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hopewell’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hopewell’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHopewell, PA, "Limited": stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Hopewell on the map, 1900 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hopewell. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Hopewell on the 1900 USGS mapHopewell on the 1968 USGS mapHopewell on the 1973 USGS mapHopewell on the 1994 USGS map1900Everett 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.

People over time

Hopewell, census by census

01002003004005006001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 590

Peaked at 590 in 1910; 189 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Hopewell’s Wikipedia page.

The story so far

Hopewell, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Hopewell yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Hopewell is a borough in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 189 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1816. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 230 to 189 (-18%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Hopewell, 1816 to 1910

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1816Post officeThe Hopewell post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1907In the archiveHopewell, PA, "Limited"
  6. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 590
By decade

Hopewell, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Hopewell, PA, "Limited"1907Hopewell, PA, "Limited"
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today5 recent
Hopewell Boro, PA municipal office, Aug. 20242024Hopewell Boro, PA municipal office, Aug. 2024Former Hopewell Boro, PA train station, Aug. 20242024Former Hopewell Boro, PA train station, Aug. 2024Route 26 - panoramio (1)2015Route 26 - panoramio (1)Hopewell post office 166502015Hopewell post office 16650Hopewell Senior Center2015Hopewell Senior Center
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Hopewell, PA, "Limited"
Retake this viewHopewell, PA, "Limited", 1907

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Hopewell’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Broad Top Township1 historic placeA−

Questions about Hopewell’s history

What year was Hopewell founded?

The Hopewell post office opened in 1816, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1855.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (5), the Library of Congress (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.