Hopewell VA History

Hopewell was started as an industrial town and is an industrial town today. There are many of us who are proud of this fact, but not everyone appreciates this history, particularly, it appears, those who prefer new construction development without even considering the benefits of reusing our few remaining historic structures. But it was the bricks and mortar that built Hopewell, starting in 1915 on the next day after a December fire had burned through the densly constructed wooden downtown area.

National tourism and historic preservation organizations have long advocated that communities preserve their "sense of place" by re-using their existing buildings -- for several very good reasons. First of all, as each town or region grows, it develops a uniqueness that is all its own which is, visually, represented in its buildings. Most often it's a mish-mash of different styles of structures built over the decades (or centuries) and each era has it's charms. Through use over the years, these buildings take on the energy of the people -- from those who built them to those who used them, or even just walked by or driven by them over the years. They become an anchor in the lives of the people and the uniqueness of a community can become a tourism draw. Certainly new buildings will be built in the new style or with new materials (unfortunately quite often with plastic or vinyl these days). But to demolish the existing building just for the purpose of building a new one in the same place is an expensive folly, particularly when the taxpayers are made to foot the bill -- except for, of course, those who would profit off the demolition and new construction.

To protect the uniqueness of their comunities, municipalities designate historic districts to indicate what they believe are their most value structures to preserve and re-use. In Hopewell we have two historic districts: City Point and Downtown Hopewell. In a most heartbreaking episode in Hopewell, City officials in charge at the time were responsible for the demolition of Patrick Copeland School, the largest and most signficant historic building in the Downtown historic district, thereby losing the possibility to re-use its fully-functioning Art Deco Auditorium and the building itself for luxury residential units, medical offices, or a hotel, like the former Miller and Rhodes building in Richmond.

However, in a most stunning reversal of events, one that made former propents of demolition into preservation advocates, Hopewell is going to finally get a restoration project in the Butterworth Building. Even those who voted for the demoltion of Patrick Copeland have praised this project, for all the same reasons that Patrick Copeland would have been a wonderful restoration and reuse project. But now that it's gone, and so the land, which the taxpayers of Hopewell paid $500,000 to provide a "cleared site" for a developer who never came, can now be returned to the people for its original use -- before the WPA school was built on the site. And this is to make the entire open area as the "City Park" for ALL the citizens of Hopewell. Just as Richmond is preserving access to the James River (read recent RTD article here), Hopewell can now re-use this now sacred open space as it was from the very origins of Hopewell in 1915 -- as a City Park for the people.

This website has been revamped with the following goals:

1. To focus on the parts of Hopewell History that are not being emphasized elsewhere
The story history of the workers, including our immigrant and African American communities, who built Hopewell from the ground up
The Hopewell industries who made us what we are today
Our unique families, neighborhood and businesses

2. To create an “endangered history” list of buildings. We've lost so many significant historic buildings, particularly in Downtown Hopewell, that we are in danger of irrevocably and finally losing our "sense of place" as a City. Yes, it's VERY good news about the Butterworth Building, but just as one restored building does not make an "economic anchor" in the Downtown Historic District, two restored buildings do not a historic district make. We certainly hope the developers of Butterworth's will be more encouraging to additonal preservation around them than the management of the previous restored building in Downtown Hopewell and we won't see more demolition encouraged around this building. Because there is much research that indicates the economic value, in terms of tourism and economic revitalization, to reusing the historical assets that your already have, whenever possible. And everyone needs to be supported by the City -- the businesses, the homeowners, the renters -- and not just the few that seem to get all the support from the City.

3. To document the historical buildings we’ve already lost, in fond memory of them, and also in the spirit of "those who do no know history are doomed to repeat it."

4. To celebrate the historic buildings that are being reused in Hopewell, starting with our newest most exciting project -- the Butterworth Loft's -- as well as individuals and businesses who have long be using the buildings of Hopewell that were produced in our proud past. We recognize that sometimes they have been doing this under very difficult circumstances, particularly the merchants who are holding on in Downtown Hopewell, and so they are the true Heros of Hopewell these days. the