Hopewell is a wonderful waterfront community located at the confluence of Virginia's historic James and Appomattox Rivers.  Hopewell is approximately 25miles Southeast of the capital city of Richmond and accessible by I-95 and I-295.

City Point, the oldest part of Hopewell, was founded in 1613 by Sir Thomas Dale.  City Point’s location on a bluff overlooking the James and Appomattox Rivers has been an important factor in Hopewell's history for almost four centuries

The tiny colonial village of City Point saw the Revolutionary War fought on its banks.  Later, in 1864-1865, General Ulysses S. Grant directed the 10-month Siege of Petersburg from the grounds of Appomattox Plantation.  This historic home is now part of the City Point Unit of Petersburg National Battlefield.

Hopewell was developed by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware in 1914.  This company first built a dynamite factory and then switched to the manufacture of guncotton during World War I.

Although DuPont left Hopewell after the war, many manufacturing giants have since located in the city.  These companies have included: Allied Signal, Firestone, Goldschmidt, Hercules/Aqualon, Honeywell and Smurfit-Stone.

Products as diverse as the first automatic dishwasher, the first Kraft paper and cardboard boxes, china and artificial silk have been manufactured in Hopewell.

Since its founding, Hopewell, named after an English ship, has continued its British ties by twinning with the City of Ashford, Kent, England.