Waterfront at City Point, Virginia (now Hopewell) in 1865

Hopewell is an independent city in the state of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 22,354. It is located in the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).

History

The city owes it 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. City Point was an unincorporated town in Prince George until Hopewell annexed City Point in 1923.

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, and later became the oldest portion of the Norfolk and Western Railway, itself now a part of Norfolk Southern.

Hopewell was developed by the duPont Company in 1914 as Hopewell Farm, an Incorporated area in Prince George County. DuPont first built a dynamite factory and 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 afterwords 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.

Today, Hopewell is the host city of large chemical plants owned by the Honeywell Corporation, Stone Smith Container Corporation,and Hercules Chemical. It has dealt with many environmental issues over the years, most notable the infamous kepone debacle of the 1970's. Although still an important industrial city, it has faced issues of urban decay. It's middle class has largely disappeared into Prince George County, and its housing stock is dominated by rent properties and low-income housing projects.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.0 km² (10.8 mi²). 26.5 km² (10.2 mi²) of it is land and 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 5.36% water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 22,354 people, 9,055 households, and 6,075 families residing in the city. The population density is 842.9/km² (2,182.3/mi²). There are 9,749 housing units at an average density of 367.6/km² (951.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 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 are 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% are married couples living together, 21.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% are non-families. 27.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.43 and the average family size is 2.94.

In the city 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 82.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $33,196, and the median income for a family is $38,043. Males have a median income of $30,835 versus $23,398 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,338. 14.9% of the population and 12.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 21.6% of those under the age of 18 and 10.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

External links

• City of Hopewell (http://www.ci.hopewell.va.us/)
• Maps and aerial photos
  • Street map from Mapquest (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=37.290399&longitude=-77.303371&zoom=6)
  • Topographic map from Topozone (http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=37.290399&lon=-77.303371&s=200&size=m&layer=DRG100)
  • Aerial photograph from Microsoft Terraserver (http://terraserver.microsoft.com/map.aspx?t=1&s=14&lon=-77.303371&lat=37.290399&w=750&h=500)