Hopewell is located at the confluence of the Appomattox and James rivers
Source: Google Maps
Hopewell is located at the confluence of the Appomattox and James rivers
Source: Google Maps
The City of Hopewell incorporated in 1916. The start of World War I had led to a stunning population increase, from 300 people in 1910 to 40,000 people in 1915.
That growth was stimulated by the 1912 decision of E.I. DuPont de Nemours Co. to purchase 1,600 acres of the Eppes estate and build a dynamite production facility. The plant closed soon after the Civil War, but other chemical plants opened in the 1920's.1
Hopewell in 1929
Source: National Archives, Virginia - Hopewell