Hooper

History

Hooper was established in 1871, following construction of the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad through the territory. It was named for Samuel Hooper, a US congressman from Massachusetts. By the 1970s, the future of railroad service came into question. The Chicago & North Western was running fewer trains through town. Throughout the decade, the train traffic continued to decline. This sparked a lot of discussion about abandonment. In spring of 1982, flooding from the Elkhorn River & nearby Pebble Creek damaged the track. With the declining freight traffic levels & flooding damage, the C&NW promptly filed a request with the Interstate Commerce Commission to abandon the line. Permission was granted later that year, leaving the tracks with a dismal future. In 1986, railroad service was revived by the newly formed Fremont & Elkhorn Valley Railroad (FEVR), which took ownership of the abandoned C&NW track. However, a bridge north of Nickerson was deemed unsafe to cross in 2003; as a result, FEVR embargoed train service through Hooper. In summer 2021, the tracks were dismantled as part of an effort to construct a bike path following the old railroad route.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  207
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  194
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  192
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  188
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  130
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  112
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  109
• Brown-headed Cowbird

  Molothrus ater (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  108

Largest nearby schools

• LOGAN VIEW ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · HOOPER · 316 students · 15:1 ratio
• LOGAN VIEW JR/SR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · HOOPER · 274 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AT SCRIBNER
  Elementary · SCRIBNER · 105 students · 7:1 ratio
• SCRIBNER-SNYDER SECONDARY SCH
  High · SCRIBNER · 66 students · 5.1:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.3 — 2010-11-18
  4 km E of Octavia, Nebraska