Generations of Joy
The Hopewell Quarry
For almost 100 years, the Quarry Swim Club has been run as a picture-postcard swimming area. Although bathing suit styles may have changed over the years, much of the Quarry has remained the same.
Once An Old Quarry…
A quarry operation mined the rock into the early 1900s. The miners carved a deep hole in the hillside and were constantly pumping out the water that rose from the underground springs. In 1916, the quarry ceased operation and the mining company filed for bankruptcy. The equipment was removed, and the pump (which was used to remove the spring water) was shut off.
Now A Local Swimming Hole
The springs continued to produce an abundance of water, filling the hole to an initial depth of approximately 55 feet. Consequently, when those hot, hazy days of summer hit and school was out, no fence, wall or sign could keep kids away from the hidden treasure that became "the old swimming hole." As word spread, locals began to climb over and around the rickety fence that surrounded the place. The local kids would walk, bike or hitch-hike to this beautiful spot to cool off.
As people started showing up to go swimming, the owners began to charge admission and soon began the earliest days of the Quarry Swim Club. It was incorporated as a swim club in 1928.
In 1946 the first in-ground swimming pool of the area was built. Later, an admissions booth was added, dressing rooms were installed, and the first Quarry snack shack or "refreshment building" was completed.
Newspaper articles from 1946, 1949 and 1951 reported that the Quarry Swim Club, along with the American Red Cross, held spectacular Water Carnivals every summer. There were diving competitions off the cliffs that drew huge crowds and demonstrations on water safety and boating were also given.
Former owners and long-time Hopewell residents Nancy and Jim Gypton were stewards of the Quarry Swimming Club from the summer of 1988 through 2021. At the beginning of their tenure, they renovated the property and buildings to bring charm and safety to the site. They put electrical lines underground, installed fencing all around the Quarry property, and added raised-seam metal roofs and cedar board and batten siding.
To make the property more hospitable for picnickers, the Gyptons installed charcoal grills, picnic tables, a pavilion, new dressing rooms and a sand volleyball court. They loaned out inner tubes, pool toys, noodles, volleyballs and quarry footballs and frisbees to toss between the rafts. Their goal was to create an old-fashioned, safe family picnic grounds so people could bring their children and grandchildren to a place that remained as it was in generations past and to maintain this summer tradition going forward for future generations.
Purchased by Friends of Hopewell Quarry in August 2021, the Hopewell Quarry is now protected open space and will serve the public as a swimming hole and events space for decades to come.
