Thompson

History

Thompson was platted in 1892. It was incorporated as a city in 1894. A post office opened in 1890, and rural carrier service was established in 1904. The Thompson Courier began publication in 1894, and is still in business. In 1938, the paper expanded operations with the purchase of the Rake Register, becoming the Thompson Courier and Rake Register. Thompson's first telephone switchboard was installed in the home of Dr. G.M. Lee in 1894. Groups of farmers joined together to establish their own small phone companies, and 12 systems shared the town's joint switchboard and party lines. By the 1940s, the Switchboard Company had purchased its own building, and the Thompson Telephone Company and Thompson Telephone Cooperative were formed. In 1951, the local Rural Electrification Association released a movie featuring several Thompson residents, who described the struggles for adequate phone service in Winnebago County, until a federal Rural Electrification Administration telephone loan finally enabled the Winnebago Cooperative Telephone Association to provide modern dial service. The Thompson Cooperative Creamery was chartered in 1897. The creamery consolidated the earlier milk station operations at Amund corner, Vinje, and three other locations, which used large volume separators to skim off cream. Cooling and churning were powered by a steam boiler until electricity was installed. The Farmers Cooperative Elevator Company formed in 1907, as farmers were dissatisfied with the prices received at the three independent grain elevators. The Thompson Fire Department built its fire hall in 1925. Thompson was without a bank for over a year after the First National Bank shut its doors on June 26, 1932, and the State Bank of Thompson and First National Bank of Thompson failed.…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  300
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  271
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  257
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  229
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  221
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  198
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  181
• Trumpeter/Tundra Swan

  Cygnus buccinator Richardson, 1831 · Aves
  173

Largest nearby schools

• Forest City Elementary School
  Elementary · Forest City · 487 students · 13.9:1 ratio
• Forest City Middle School
  Middle · Forest City · 330 students · 12.7:1 ratio
• Forest City High School
  High · Forest City · 324 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• North Iowa Elem Buffalo Center
  Elementary · Buffalo Center · 256 students · 19.7:1 ratio
• North Iowa High School
  High · Buffalo Center · 117 students · 11.7:1 ratio
• North Iowa Middle School
  Middle · Buffalo Center · 107 students · 11.9:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.8 — 2017-04-25
  Near Mankato, Minnesota