The oldest part of Hopewell, City Point was founded in the second decade of the 17th century and later on in its history a Revolutionary battle was fought on the shores of this small village. The development of Hopewell into a viable economic city was led by the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware after 1910. Even before this, in the early 1800's, the small village of City Point became a port of entry with a U.S. Customs office and in the 1830's the City Point Railroad company began operating between City Point and Petersburg.