Everything about Hopewell Virginia totally explained
Hopewell is an
independent city in the Commonwealth of
Virginia. The population was 22,354 at the
2000 census. It is in
Tri-Cities area of the
Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The
Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Hopewell with
Prince George county for statistical purposes.
History
City Point
The city owes its existence to its site overlooking the
James and
Appomattox Rivers.
City Point, the oldest part of Hopewell, was established in
1613 by Sir
Thomas Dale. It was first known as "Bermuda City" (one of many appearances of the name of
the Atlantic archipelago, itself once part of Virginia, on the map of Virginia) which was changed to Charles City, lengthened to Charles City Point, and later abbreviated to City Point.
"Charles City Point" was in
Charles City Shire when the first eight shires were established in the Colony of Virginia in
1634. Charles City Shire soon became known as
Charles City County in 1637. An area of the county south of the river including City Point became Prince George County in
1703.
During the
American Civil War, City Point was the headquarters of
General Ulysses S. Grant during the
Siege of Petersburg in
1864 and
1865. The
City Point Railroad, built in
1838 between City Point and
Petersburg played an important role in the campaign, and later became the oldest portion of the
Norfolk and Western Railway, itself now a part of
Norfolk Southern.
City Point was an unincorporated town in Prince George County until the City of Hopewell annexed the Town of City Point in
1923.
Hopewell Farm
Hopewell was developed by
DuPont Company in
1914 as Hopewell Farm, an incorporated area in Prince George County. DuPont first built a
dynamite factory there, then switched to the manufacture of
guncotton during
World War I. Nearly burned to the ground in the infamous Hopewell Fire of
1915, Hopewell prospered afterwards 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 city in
1916. It was abandoned by DuPont after World War I and briefly became a ghost town, until
Tubize Corporation established a plant at the old DuPont site in
1923. 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
bus plunged through the open draw of the
Appomattox River Drawbridge 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 Bridges cross nearby.
Public Schools
Hopewell currently has six public schools; Hopewell High school (High School), Carter G. Woodson (Middle School), Patrick Copeland (Elemantary), Dupont (Elemantary), Harry E. James (Elemantary), and Woodlawn Learning Center (Pre-School & A.E.).
Recent history
Hopewell is the host city of large chemical plants owned by the
Honeywell Corporation,
Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation, and
Hercules Chemical. It has dealt with many environmental issues over the years, most notably the infamous
kepone debacle of the 1970's.
In 1977, Hopewell again made the national news when a tanker hit the
Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge.
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.
However, Hopewell has seen a resurgence with renewed development of its large waterfront areas, the downtown areas, and the
City Point Historical District. The city has a collection of
Sears Catalog Homes, with several available for exterior viewing on a self-guided tour.
Hopewell is also home to an impressive 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
twinned with
Ashford,
Kent,
U.K.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.8
square miles (28.0
km²). 10.2 square miles (26.5 km²) of it's land and 0.6 square miles (1.5 km²) is water. The total area is 5.36% water.
Adjacent counties
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 22,354 people, 9,055 households, and 6,075 families residing in the city. The
population density was 2,182.3 people per square mile (842.9/km²). There were 9,749 housing units at an average density of 951.7/sq mi (367.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 62.29%
White, 33.48%
Black or
African American, 0.35%
Native American, 0.81%
Asian, 0.07%
Pacific Islander, 1.23% from
other races, and 1.77% from two or more races. 2.91% 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 couples 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 income 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.
Media
The Hopewell News, operated by Lancaster Management Inc., is a biweekly newspaper which covers local events
(External Link
). The front page, as a PDF, is available from the paper's website.
Gallery
Image: Hopewell3.jpg
Further Information
Get more info on 'Hopewell Virginia'.
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