Located on the National Road (U.S. 40) four miles east of Uniontown, Hopwood was named Woodstock when settled in 1791. It was renamed Monroe in 1816 after a visit from President James Monroe, and received its present appellation in 1881 to honor its founder, John Hopwood from Virginia, an aide-de-camp to George Washington. Hopwood patented 450 acres of land at the foot of Chestnut Ridge and recorded a town plan for 400 quarter-acre lots. He deeded property for an academy of higher learning. When the proposed route for the National Road did not correspond to the main street of Woodstock, John's son Moses laid out a new section and made the name change of 1816. The village served as a resting stop before the ascent of Chestnut Ridge, and at one time, had seven inns to accommodate acres of wagons and animals overnight. Six gray sandstone buildings dating from 1816 to 1839 were houses, inns, or stores that served the National Road. The first building upon entering Hopwood from the east is now the fire station (1818; National Pike at Paul Street). It is two stories in height, with a tablet reading “William Morris, September the 7th–1818.” At 1208 National Pike is the former Monroe Tavern c. 1825, and at 1187 National Pike, a restaurant is located in the former Moses Hopwood Tavern c. 1816. The Benjamin Hayden House (1225 Main Street) on the north side of the road is now Dean's Barber Shop, and two stone houses in the same block at 1223 (built in 1823) and 1213 National Pike complete the ensemble of stone houses from the early nineteenth century.
The two-and-one-half-story rambling James R. Barnes house at the southeastern edge of Hopwood blends Colonial Revival with Shingle Style elements and is surrounded by a low cobblestone wall and the remnants of a garden. It was built in 1906–1907 by one of Josiah V. Thompson's partners, who lost his fortune with Thompson's bankruptcy a decade later.
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