Cooper is an unincorporated community in Greene County, Iowa, United States.
Cooper, Iowa | |
|---|---|
  Cooper  Cooper | |
| Coordinates: 41°55′N 94°21′W / 41.917°N 94.350°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Iowa |
| County | Greene |
| ZIP code | 50059[1] |
| Area code | 515 |
History
editCooper was founded in 1881 with the arrival of the railroad, and was named after Des Moines railroad executive F.M. Hubbell's father-in-law, Isaac Cooper. Cooper's population reached a high point of about 250 in 1900.[2]
A fire in 1921 leveled much of Cooper's business district.[2]
The population was 157 in 1940.[3]
The Cooper School District was merged with nearby Jefferson in 1959; the Franklin Township School closed that summer and the junior high school building closed in the 1970s.[2]
In late July, 1980, the Des Moines Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) brought 5,000 cyclists pedaling through town. As the cyclists approached from the west, a cannon was fired and a recording of the 1812 Overture was repeatedly played.[2]
Arts and culture
editCooper has become nationally known for two things:
1. In 1981 an international search to adopt the 51st citizen of this small town landed residents on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The publicity which followed generated a crowd of nearly 12,500 for the weekend event.[2]
2. Later years home of the "Iowa Boy" Chuck Offenburger.[4]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Cooper ZIP Code". zipdatamaps.com. 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "Greenecounty Iowa Development". Cooper. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
- ^ The Attorneys List. United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company, Attorney List Department. 1940. p. 296.
- ^ "Offenburger.com". Retrieved December 22, 2010.
External links
edit
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