Goodspeed Histories: Flemington’s First Bank
April 23, 2021
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Today I return to the subject of John C. Hopewell and his contributions to the town of Flemington in the mid 19th century—in particular, his construction of the building that was long known as the home of the Hunterdon County National Bank.
Flemington’s First Bank
It was fascinating to learn about the nature of the American economy during the 1850s, when there was no national bank to reign in the behavior of wildcat banks and even the more reputable ones who were eager to loan money they didn’t have. It was also intriguing to see how the bank moved from place to place looking for the ideal home.
As usual, I could not finish the story in one article, and will be returning to the history of the bank, of the Reading Mansion, and of John C. Hopewell in a future article.
However, I may allow myself some distractions. Articles in the works are an article by Egbert T. Bush on the Summit School located not far from the farmland that Raritan Township is acquiring to add to its preserved acreage, and an article about the Kendall School in Sergeantsville.
Another Project: Revising the Index of Articles.
I still have not properly dealt with this.
My incentive for doing this is to make it easier for readers to see what articles are related to each other, and also to make it easier for me to know where to file the articles I’ve published. One problem is there are too many possibilities. Another problem is that when I see a list of, for instance, articles I’ve published about local schools, it immediately suggests all the schools that have not yet been written about.
Family Trees
No new trees this week. However, I have updated the Howell Tree, thanks to an inquiry from a reader. It is an inescapable fact that family trees are always works in progress. Possible future trees for families related to the development of Flemington would be the Capners, Andersons, Chamberlin, and no doubt many more.
Regards,
Marfy
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