Cooper is an unincorporated community in Greene County, Iowa, United States.

Cooper, Iowa
Cooper is located in Iowa
Cooper
Cooper
Cooper is located in the United States
Cooper
Cooper
Coordinates: 41°55′N 94°21′W / 41.917°N 94.350°W / 41.917; -94.350
CountryUnited States
StateIowa
CountyGreene
ZIP code
50059[1]
Area code515

History

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Cooper 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

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Cooper 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

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References

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  1. ^ "Cooper ZIP Code". zipdatamaps.com. 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Greenecounty Iowa Development". Cooper. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
  3. ^ The Attorneys List. United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company, Attorney List Department. 1940. p. 296.
  4. ^ "Offenburger.com". Retrieved December 22, 2010.
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