Small Towns along the Road (#1)

…continuing with our July road trip.

Our initial stay with our family in Omaha was over and we hit the road, heading northwest along US Hwy 275.  I had researched towns, possible attractions and places to eat along our route.  We love exploring out of the way places and especially small town America…avoiding the Interstate Highway System whenever possible.

The first town on my list was Hooper Nebraska.  Hooper is located in eastern Dodge County and its estimated population stands at about 840 residents.  This 24-foot tall obelisk was completed in 2010.  Residents were concerned, rightfully so, that the new road bypassing the town would mean that the town would no longer by noticed or frequented by passing travelers.  The town’s population peaked in 1920 at 1,014.  Hooper was named for a 7 term member of the US House of Representatives from Massachusetts, but the ‘why’ is a mystery to me…

I like trains and especially old trains and rolling stock.  As we neared the center of Hooper, I took note of these 2 old rail cars.  The first one, a coach-observation car (#125) is clearly marked as having belonged to the Union Pacific Railroad.  As for the unusual looking second railcar, I just don’t have a clue what it might have been… The letters on its side appear to read D.G. & T.R.R., but I can’t find any old railroad with a corresponding name…

Hooper, like many towns in western Nebraska, got its start due to the coming of the railroad.  Hooper was founded in 1871, following the construction of the Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad through the Nebraska Territory.  The Chicago and North Western Railroad was the successor to the FE and MVRR but due to flooding and declining freight traffic, it abandoned the line in 1982.  Service was revived in 1986 by the Fremont and Elkhorn Valley Railroad…but damage to a bridge on the line in 2003 ended all traffic through Hooper.  I did discover that the town isn’t too happy with the Fremont and Elkhorn Valley Railroad as they’ve just let their property and equipment rot and rust away right at the entrance to Hooper’s downtown…

This is a view of downtown Hooper Nebraska.  Main Street is so wide that there is parking in the middle of the street.  The center of town is the Hooper Historic District, covering 4 acres and including 22 contributing buildings.  It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Most of the historic buildings consist of one or two story commercial structures that feature Italianate architecture.  Note all the American flags!  We came to town shortly after the Fourth of July…

Note all the brick buildings… One of the reasons for this solid construction was the fact that a fire in the 1880s destroyed much of the business district.  This disaster prompted requirements for ‘fireproof’ construction.  It was important that there were two nearby brickyards where abundant yellow clay was found.

Note the building to the right of this photo.  The center portion with the higher peak identifies this 3-segment structure as the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons Building.  It was built in 1890.  The Lodge occupied the upper floors, there was a general store in the center, and one side was occupied by a saloon, while the other side was a drug store.  FYI, this Mason’s Lodge was organized in 1878 and it still meets in this building.

The structure at the left of the Mason’s Building is the C.W. Klingbeil Building.  C.W. Klingbeil was a businessman dealing in general merchandise who came to town in 1883.  Unfortunately, like much of the business district, he lost his store to the big fire in January of 1990.  This two-story brick over cast iron building promptly replaced the original store.  It cost over $8,000 to build…

It never fails to amaze me just how important newspapers were back in the days before Radio, TV and social media.  Consider how small Hooper was and yet the Hooper Sentinel Newspaper was published at least weekly for over 80 years. 

This little one-story brick building was built in 1886 for the Hooper Bank… Later, as the State Bank of Hooper, in 1900 the building was sold to the First National Bank before becoming the Sentinel Building.  Although the newspaper didn’t occupy this building when it was first published in 1885, I read articles from as far back as 1893.  To see what the news was in Hooper back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, you can go to The Hooper Sentinel on Newspapers.com.  The paper ceased publication in 1966.

Here’s another view along one side of Hooper’s main street.  The side of the old Heine Brothers Block, ca 1886, proudly displays a big patriotic mural featuring an American Flag with an old veteran and a new soldier (hidden behind the telephone pole) painted on the side of one building.  I believe that it was completed in 2010 and it replaced an older mural.  In addition, note the unusual tin roof coverings over the sidewalks…all part of the Historic District’s description.  Based on old photos I looked at, some of the coverings have been lost over the years.  The Heine brothers were pioneer dealers in hardware and implements.

Excitement and Hollywood came to Hooper in 2012!  A film crew took over the town’s Main Street to shoot a scene for the movie “Nebraska”, with a scene was shot at the town’s Sodbuster Saloon.  As it was early in the day, we missed a chance to visit the saloon…

“Nebraska” was an American black and white comedy that was released in 2013 and it starred Bruce Dern and Will Forte.  Dern, who is still making movies with his first one in 1960, won the Best Actor Award for the film at the Cannes Film Festival and the movie was nominated for 6 Oscars at the Academy Awards.  It also was a box office success, bringing in about twice as much money as it cost to make…

There is one other prominent mural in Hooper… This old time steam locomotive and train with an image of the old Hooper Railway Depot has been on the side of this building since at least 2004.  Its very appropriate for an old railroad town...

I’ll end with the old Dodge County Bank Building that is located at the corner of Main and Fulton Streets in Hooper.  This two-story brick on raised basement structure was built in 1899.  Today, part of the building is occupied by an attorney.  The bank itself was founded in 1882 by T.W. Lyman who came to town in 1871, and John Heimrich.  The bank was first known as Lyman and Heimrich, Bankers.  They were succeeded by the Dodge County Bank in 1884 and this building was built to replace another lost to a fire.  FYI, the nearby Elkhorn River has also caused problems for Hooper over the years…especially in 2019.

We were way too early to eat lunch but I did note that there are two restaurants right in the middle of town.  One is Iron Horse Food and Spirits at 107 North Main Street right next to the old Dodge County Bank Building.  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Diner/Iron-Horse-Caf%C3%A9-200705113281981/. The other option is the Office Bar and Grill at 121 North Main Street.  You can check out their website at: https://www.officebarandgrill.net/index.html.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by to see what we saw on our road trip!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave