As part of the 125th anniversary of the incorporation of Pennington Borough, an exhibition of historic photographs, Pennington Comes of Age, will be unveiled by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society at The Pennington School’s Silva Gallery of Art.
The exhibition opens on Friday, March 27, and continues through April 25, 2015. A special reception will be held on Wednesday, April 1, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Gallery hours are Monday–Thursday, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; Friday, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.; or by appointment. All events and exhibitions at the Silva Gallery are free and open to the public.
The exhibit comprises vintage photographs from the Hopewell Valley Historical Society’s George H. Frisbie Collection. Curated by Society archivist Jack Koeppel, Pennington Comes of Age tells the story of the first twenty-five years Pennington Borough’s incorporation, 1890–1915. During these years George Frisbie, who had grown up in a family-run business on South Main Street, captured the world around him through the view-finder of his big wooden camera. His images not only document people and places, but record many of the changes that took place over this span of time. Descendants of Frisbie still reside in Pennington Borough, and in 1986 Alice Frisbie and her daughter, Mary Thornton, donated eight hundred negatives to the Historical Society.
The images selected from this collection for the exhibition will be accompanied by narratives written by Society historians Larry Kidder, Jack Davis, and David Blackwell. Areas in the display will discuss changes in architecture, transportation, and technology during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Images of the railroad, street railways, and horseless carriages will be accompanied by quotations and information gleaned from early newspapers and artifacts in the Society’s Archive of Hopewell Valley History. Other photographs depict some important Penningtonians like Joseph Thompson, the flag crossing guard, and Charles Hendrickson, the town’s lamp-lighter. This is the first time these images have been featured in an exhibit.
For further information, call Gallery Director Dolores Eaton at 609–737–4133.
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