John Hopwood (1745 – June 2, 1802) was an American civil servant during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and founded the town of Hopwood, Pennsylvania (originally named "Woodstock") in western Pennsylvania. John Hopwood was born in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and married Hannah Bearcroft/Barecroft Humphreys, the young widow of Joseph Humphries, in 1770. According to local and family lore, he was a neighbor and trusted friend of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

, who in recognition of his merit, selected him as an aide-de-camp and assigned him the responsibility of selecting winter quarters for the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

. However, there is no supporting evidence of this beyond local histories compiled in the late 19th century; per the

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

, Hopwood was only recorded as having "furnished supplies" and having served as a juror.

Purported military service

According to a roll of Captain Alex Smith, Company of Colonel Rawlings’ Regiment commanded by Colonel J. Hall, a John Hopwood served under Captain Thomas Bell’s Company for a period of three years. The Maryland Revolutionary War Militia muster rolls also list a John Hopwood as being a member of the 6th Company

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...

Militia in September 1777 and as being a member of the 6th Company, commanded by Captain Thomas Conner, on July 15, 1780; under the Command of Colonel Archibald Orme. John Hopwood founded Hopwood, Pennsylvania, when he left Stafford County, Virginia, at the close of the War. It is alleged that when George Washington purchased in

Perryopolis Perryopolis is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. The borough is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 1,705 at the 2020 census. History George Washington purchased here when land first became available. He visit ...

, his friend John Hopwood also bought land, the land that became the Village of Hopwood at the foot of the Chestnut Ridge in Fayette County, Pennsylvania.

Hopwood, Pennsylvania

Having purchased several large tracts of land in and around present-day Hopwood, John Hopwood recorded a town plan at the courthouse in nearby Uniontown, Pennsylvania, on November 8, 1791, drawing up a rather unusual set of 400 level lots, each sectioned into a half an acre. He designed the village town with wide, straight roads and offered the new lots to settlers at a payment installation option which was then very uncommon. New residents had 10 years to pay off the lots, with the stipulation that a dwelling had to be erected on the site within five years of purchase. Hopwood offered new residents all the free stone and timber they needed to construct their new homes. He dubbed the town "Woodstock." The "Charter of the Town of Woodstock" as written by Hopwood was printed by the noted Early American printer/publisher Nathaniel Willis (grandfather of

Nathaniel Parker Willis Nathaniel Parker Willis (January 20, 1806 – January 20, 1867), also known as N. P. Willis,Baker, 3 was an American author, poet and editor who worked with several notable American writers including Edgar Allan Poe and Henry Wadsworth Longfello ...

) in Martinsburg, West Virginia (then Virginia). The Charter is listed in many libraries' reference microfiche collections (including

The Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

and

The Library of Virginia The Library of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, is the library agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It serves as the archival agency and the reference library for Virginia's seat of government. The Library moved into a new building in 1997 and i ...

) and in reference works (including

Sabin Sabin may refer to: ;Places in the United States * Sabin, Minnesota, a city in Clay County, Minnesota * Sabin, Portland, Oregon, a neighborhood in Portland, Oregon *Sabin-Schellenberg Center, a technical skills center for the North Clackamas Schoo ...

's "Bibliotheca Americana" ), as an "Early American Imprint" and is also considered to be one of the earliest known works published in what is now the state of West Virginia. The village was renamed "Monroe" in 1816 after President James Monroe stayed at the Moses Hopwood House. However, when it was discovered in 1881 that another town of Monroe already existed in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

, it was renamed "Hopwood" after its founding father.Forbes, ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Pearl of the Pike. Tuesday, March 24, 2009.'' John Hopwood, a member of the Great Bethel Baptist Church, died June 2, 1802, in Hopwood, Pennsylvania. He was buried in Hopwood Cemetery (also known as the Founding Fathers Cemetery) where the following is inscribed upon his original tombstone :John Hopwood senior who departed this life June 2nd A.D. 1802, aged 57 years. ''He who can leave a cottage or a throne and alone with his spacious mind dwell.'' His replacement tombstone, raised in 1991 during the Hopwood bicentennial, also states: "Rev lutionary WarAide to George Washington - Village Founder".

Family

His grandson William DeFord served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives.

Notes

References

*Chapman Bros. ''Portrait and Biographical Album of Benton County, Iowa - Containing Full Page Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County''. Chapman Bros., 1887. *Clements & Wright. ''Maryland Militia in the Revolutionary War''. Heritage Books Inc., 2001. *Ellis, Franklin. ''History of Fayette County, Pennsylvania''. Philadelphia: L.H. Everts and Co., 1882. Availabl
Online
from the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

Digital Research Library. *Federal Writers Project. ''Pennsylvania: A Guide to the Keystone State (American Guide Series)''. Scholarly Press, 1980. *Forbes, Marilyn. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review/TRIB:Live: ''Pearl of the Pike'' Tuesday, March 24, 2009. Tribune-Review Publishing Co., 2009

*Gresham, John M. ''Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Fayette County, Pennsylvania''. General Books LLC, 2010. *Hadden, James. ''A History of Uniontown: The County Seat of Fayette County, Pennsylvania''. New Werner Co., 1913. *Hopwood, John. ''Charter of the Town of Woodstock ... Martinsburg .Va.Printed by N. Willis

791 __NOTOC__ Year 791 ( DCCXCI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 791 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar e ...

'. availabl
Online
from the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

, "An American Time Capsule: Three Centuries of Broadsides and Other Printed Ephemera", http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/rbpe.18900300 (accessed 2000-2010) *Johnston, Elizabeth Bryant. ''Lineage Book - National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Volume 2''. NSDAR, 1892. *Nelson, S.B. ''Nelson's Biographical Dictionary: Fayette Co. - History of Pennsylvania''. Kirtas Books, 1896. *Sabin et al. "Bibliotheca Americana: A Dictionary of Books relating to America, from its discovery to the present time" Vol. 29, 1936/1961 *Shelley, Fred. ''Maryland Revolutionary War Militia List''. Maryland Historical Society Library, 1955. *Smith & Swetnam. ''Guidebook To Historic Western Pennsylvania: Revised''. University of Pittsburgh Press, 1991. *U.S. Geological Survey. ''Brownfield quadrangle Pennsylvania-Fayette County'' apPhotorevised 1973.1:24,000. 7.5 Minute Series. Reston, VA: United States Department of the Interior, USGS. *Vivian, Cassandra. ''Images of America - The National Road in Pennsylvania''. Arcadia Publishing, 2003. *Walkinshaw, Lewis Clark. ''Annals of southwestern Pennsylvania: Vol. 3''. Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc., 1939.

External links

*
Library of Congress Microfiche Listing for "Charter of the Town of Woodstock"Internet Archive Library copy of "Bibliotheca Americana"(Volume 29)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopwood, John 1745 births 1802 deaths People from Stafford County, Virginia American people of Scotch-Irish descent Virginia militiamen in the American Revolution Maryland militiamen in the American Revolution Virginia colonial people