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

Cooper, Iowa
Unincorporated community
Cooper Show map of Iowa Cooper Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 41°55′N 94°21′W
Country	United States
State	Iowa
County	Greene

History

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.[1]

A fire in 1921 leveled much of Cooper's business district.[1]

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.[1]

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.[1]

Arts and culture

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.[1]

2. Later years home of the "Iowa Boy" Chuck Offenburger.[2]

See also

• Raccoon River Valley Trail

References

External links

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