Hopewell is an
independent cityAn independent city is a city that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity. These type of cities should not be confused with city-states , which are fully sovereign cities that are not part of any other sovereign state.-Historical precursors:In the Holy Roman Empire,...
in the Commonwealth of
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. The population was 22,591 at the 2010 Census . It is in
Tri-Cities areaThe Tri-Cities of Virginia is an area in the Greater Richmond Region which includes the three independent cities of Petersburg, Colonial Heights, and Hopewell and portions of the adjoining counties of Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, and Prince George in south-central Virginia...
of the
Richmond-PetersburgThe Greater Richmond Region is a region located in a central part of the state of Virginia in the United States. As of 2010, it had a population of 1,258,251, making it the 43rd largest MSA in the country...
region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The
Bureau of Economic AnalysisThe Bureau of Economic Analysis is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that provides important economic statistics including the gross domestic product of the United States. Its stated mission is to "promote a better understanding of the U.S...
combines the city of Hopewell with
Prince George CountyAs of the census of 2000, there were 33,047 people, 10,159 households, and 8,096 families residing in the county. The population density was 124 people per square mile . There were 10,726 housing units at an average density of 40 per square mile...
for statistical purposes.
City Point
The city owes its existence to its site overlooking the
JamesThe James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
and
Appomattox RiverThe Appomattox River is a tributary of the James River, approximately long, in central and eastern Virginia in the United States, named for the Appomattocs Indian tribe who lived along its lower banks in the 17th century...
s.
City PointCity Point was a town in Prince George County, Virginia that was annexed by the independent city of Hopewell in 1923. It served as headquarters of the Union Army during the Siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War.- History :...
, the oldest part of Hopewell, was established in 1613 by Sir
Thomas DaleSir Thomas Dale was an English naval commander and deputy-governor of the Virginia Colony in 1611 and from 1614 to 1616. Governor Dale is best remembered for the energy and the extreme rigour of his administration in Virginia, which established order and in various ways seems to have benefited the...
. It was first known as "Bermuda City" which was changed to Charles City, lengthened to Charles City Point, and later abbreviated to City Point. (At this time,
BermudaBermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, the Atlantic archipelago, was considered part of the Colony of Virginia and appeared on its maps.)
"Charles City Point" was in
Charles City ShireCharles City Shire was formed in 1634 in the Virginia colony. It was named for Charles I, the then King of England, and was renamed Charles City County in 1637.-History:...
when the first eight
shireA shire is a traditional term for a division of land, found in the United Kingdom and in Australia. In parts of Australia, a shire is an administrative unit, but it is not synonymous with "county" there, which is a land registration unit. Individually, or as a suffix in Scotland and in the far...
s were established in the Colony of Virginia in 1634. Charles City Shire soon became known as Charles City County in 1637. In 1619 Samuel Sharpe and Samuel Jordan from City Point, then named Charles City, were burgesses at the first meeting of the
House of BurgessesThe House of Burgesses was the first assembly of elected representatives of English colonists in North America. The House was established by the Virginia Company, who created the body as part of an effort to encourage English craftsmen to settle in North America...
. An area of the county south of the river including City Point became Prince George County in 1703. City Point was an unincorporated town in Prince George County until the City of Hopewell annexed the Town of City Point in 1923.
During the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Union
General Ulysses S. GrantUlysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
used City Point as his headquarters during the
Siege of PetersburgThe Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...
in 1864 and 1865. Grant's headquarters, which President Lincoln visited, were located on the
EppesRichard Eppes was a prominent surgeon in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.Eppes was born in City Point, Virginia. He had earned his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania and inherited his ancestral home, Appomattox Manor at City Point, by the age of twenty...
plantation, whose owner had used many slaves as labor before the war.
The
City Point RailroadThe City Point Railroad was a nine-mile railroad in eastern Virginia established in 1836 which ran from City Point on the navigable portion of the James River to Petersburg, Virginia...
, built in 1838 between City Point and
PetersburgPetersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...
played an important role in the campaign. It is considered the oldest portion of the
Norfolk and Western RailwayThe Norfolk and Western Railway , a US class I railroad, was formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It had headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia for most of its 150 year existence....
, now a part of Norfolk Southern.
Hopewell Farm
Hopewell, part of the Eppes' plantation, was developed by
DuPont CompanyE. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
in 1914 as Hopewell Farm, an incorporated area in Prince George County. DuPont first built a
dynamiteDynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
factory there, then switched to the manufacture of guncotton during
World War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Nearly burned to the ground in the Hopewell Fire of 1915, Hopewell prospered afterward and became known as the "Wonder City". Unlike most cities in Virginia, Hopewell was never incorporated as a town but was incorporated as an
independent cityAn independent city is a city that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity. These type of cities should not be confused with city-states , which are fully sovereign cities that are not part of any other sovereign state.-Historical precursors:In the Holy Roman Empire,...
in 1916. It was abandoned by DuPont after World War I and briefly became a ghost town. In 1923 Tubize Corporation established a plant at the old DuPont site. The same year, the city of Hopewell annexed the neighboring town of City Point.
1935 bus tragedy
Hopewell made national news when, on December 22, 1935, a
busA bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
plunged through the open draw of the
Appomattox RiverThe Appomattox River is a tributary of the James River, approximately long, in central and eastern Virginia in the United States, named for the Appomattocs Indian tribe who lived along its lower banks in the 17th century...
DrawbridgeA drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
on State Route 10 just outside Hopewell's city limits. Of the 15 occupants of the bus, only one survived. Today, the modern twin spans of the
Charles Hardaway Marks BridgesCharles Hardaway Marks Bridges are twin spans which carry State Route 10 across the Appomattox River in Virginia. The bridges are located in Chesterfield County, Prince George County, and the independent city of Hopewell in the Tri-Cities area of the Richmond-Petersburg region.In 1998, the bridges...
cross nearby.
Hopewell Public Schools
The following are schools in the Hopewell, Virginia
school division-Canada:In Canada the term is used to the area controlled by a school board and is used interchangeably with school district, including in the formal name of the board. For example, see List of Alberta school boards.-United States:...
.
High School
- Hopewell High School
Hopewell High School is a secondary school located in Hopewell, Virginia. This is the only High School in Hopewell, Virginia. Hopewell High School's biggest rivalry is Petersburg High School- Sports :...
Middle School
- Carter G. Woodson
Carter Godwin Woodson was an African-American historian, author, journalist and the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. Woodson was one of the first scholars to study African American history. A founder of Journal of Negro History , Dr...
School
Elementary School(s)
- Dupont Elementary School
- Harry E. James Elementary School
- Patrick Copeland Elementary School
Detention Centers
- Woodlawn Christian Learning Center (Also serves as an Early Childhood Education Center)
- Lead Center - Open to surrounding counties
Charter/Tech
- Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts And Technology
The Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts And Technology is a public regional magnet high school in downtown Petersburg, Virginia....
Petersburg, VA, Open to students entering the 9th grade, with approval of passing through the admittance process.
Can Check Grades/ Schedules/ Attendance
http://gbook.hopewell.k12.va.us/pc/
Recent history
Hopewell is the host city of large chemical plants owned by the
HoneywellHoneywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
Corporation and Hercules Chemical as well as a paper mill owned by Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation (Recently acquired by Rock Tenn). It has dealt with many environmental issues over the years, most notably the
keponeKepone, also known as chlordecone, is a carcinogenic insecticide related to mirex, used between 1966 and 1975 in the USA for ant and roach baits.- Chemistry and toxicology :...
debacle of the 1970s.
In 1977, Hopewell again made the national news when a tanker hit the
Benjamin Harrison Memorial BridgeThe Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge that spans the James River between Jordan's Point in Prince George County and Charles City County near Hopewell, Virginia. The bridge carries vehicle traffic of State Route 156, and is owned by the Virginia Department of Transportation...
.
In 1983, Hopewell made the national news again when it was discovered that an elderly woman by the name of Evelyn Rust Wells had been held captive in her home in the low-income side of the City Point area of Hopewell. Her captors, mostly men under 18, cashed her Social Security checks at local groceries. (At the time, this was typical as the local boys and girls watched out for Ms. Wells and frequently did her grocery shopping for her.) One of the local grocers, however, eventually called the police when the boys used her check to buy beer. Ms. Wells was liberated after two months of being tied to her chair while her house was destroyed.
Although still an important industrial city, like many cities, it has faced issues of urban decay. Its middle class has largely disappeared into Prince George County, and its housing stock is dominated by rental properties and low-income housing projects.
Hopewell has seen a resurgence with renewed development of its large waterfront areas, the downtown areas, and the
City PointCity Point was a town in Prince George County, Virginia that was annexed by the independent city of Hopewell in 1923. It served as headquarters of the Union Army during the Siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War.- History :...
Historical District. The city has a collection of
Sears Catalog HomeSears Catalog Homes were ready-to-assemble kit houses sold through mail order by Sears, Roebuck and Company, an American retailer. Over 70,000 of these were sold in North America between 1908 and 1940. Shipped via railroad boxcars, these kits included all the materials needed to build a house...
s, with several available for exterior viewing on a self-guided tour.
Hopewell is also home to a collection of Aladdin Kit Homes, and may have had one of the largest collections in the country at one time. Many of these Aladdin Kit Homes have been razed.
Since 1994 Hopewell has been
twinnedTwin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with
AshfordAshford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth best place to live in the United Kingdom. It lies on the Great Stour river, the M20 motorway, and the South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways. Its agricultural market is one of the most...
,
KentKent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
,
U.KThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Geography
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 10.8 square miles (28 km²), of which 10.2 square miles (26.4 km²) are land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) is water, for a total area of 5.36% water.
Adjacent counties
- Chesterfield County, Virginia
Chesterfield County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. In 2010, its population was estimated to be 316,236. Chesterfield County is now the fourth-largest municipality in Virginia . Its county seat is Chesterfield...
- north
- Prince George County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 33,047 people, 10,159 households, and 8,096 families residing in the county. The population density was 124 people per square mile . There were 10,726 housing units at an average density of 40 per square mile...
- east, south, west
- Charles City County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,926 people, 2,670 households, and 1,975 families residing in the county. The population density was 38 people per square mile . There were 2,895 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...
- northeast
Demographics
As of the
censusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2008, there were 25,601 people, 9,055 households, and 6,075 families residing in the city. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 2,182.3 people per square mile (842.9/km²). There were 9,749 housing units at an average density of 951.7 per square mile (367.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 47.12% White, 43.48% Black, 0.81% Asian, 0.35% Native American, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.23% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.77% from two or more races. 3.67% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 9,055 households, out of which 32.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.6% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 21.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.94.
The age of the population is spread out, with 26.7% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there are 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,196, and the median income for a family was $38,043. Males had a median income of $30,835 versus $23,398 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $16,338. About 12.5% of families and 14.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.6% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.
Notable residents
- Samuel Face
Samuel Allen Face, Jr. was an American inventor and co-developer of some of the most important advances in concrete floor technology and wireless controls.-Early life:...
, american inventor, was born in City Point
- Dorothiea Hundley (aka Seka)
Seka is an American pornographic actress who appeared in many pornographic films during the late 1970s and the 1980s.-Career:...
, adult film actress attended Hopewell High SchoolHopewell High School is a secondary school located in Hopewell, Virginia. This is the only High School in Hopewell, Virginia. Hopewell High School's biggest rivalry is Petersburg High School- Sports :...
- William Haines
Charles William "Billy" Haines was an American film actor and interior designer. He was a star of the silent era until the 1930s, when Haines' career was cut short by MGM Studios due to his refusal to deny his homosexuality...
, actor and interior designer, ran a dance hall in Hopewell in 1914 while in his early teens
- Curtis W. Harris
Curtis West Harris, Sr. is a minister, civil rights activist, and politician in Virginia, USA.-Civil rights work:Harris' civil rights work began in 1950 with his stint as President of the Hopewell chapter of the NAACP...
, civil rights activist and lieutenant of Martin Luther King
- Sam Bass
Sam Bass was a nineteenth-century American train robber and outlaw.-Early life:Bass was orphaned at the age of 10. For the next five years, he and his siblings lived with an abusive uncle. In 1869, he set out on his own and spent the next year in Mississippi...
, NASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
Nascar artist for 25-plus years, hails from Hopewell and graduated from Hopewell High School
- Monsanto Pope
Monsanto Leshawn Pope is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League. He was selected by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round in the 2002 NFL Draft out of the University of Virginia...
, former defensive tackle for the Denver BroncosThe Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
Media
The Hopewell News, operated by Lancaster Management Inc., is an 8,000 circulation thrice-weekly newspaper that covers local events
http://www.hopewellnews.com/. For about 80 years, the Hopewell News was a Monday-Friday afternoon paper. Facing declining circulation and ad revenue, it cut back to three times per week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and later cut back again to twice weekly (Tuesday, Friday). In fall 2010, the paper expanded back to three times per week (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday). The paper appears to have had a vague merger with its sister publication, The News~Patriot, as its inside pages are branded "Hopewell News/News~Patriot" and its new website banner reads "Hopewell News & Patriot."
External links