History
Harley H. Hopkins, namesake of Hopkins, in 1855, note the revolver.
The first settlers of Hopkins arrived in 1852[16] as land around the growing Minneapolis–Saint Paul area was opening up and being explored by members stationed at Fort Snelling. However, the roots of the town begin in 1887 with the building of the Minneapolis Threshing Machine Company, later called Minneapolis-Moline, to make farm equipment. At the time, Minneapolis Moline employed most of the Hopkins residents. In 1887, the West Minneapolis Land Company was founded and formed to build housing for the Minneapolis Moline factory workers.
In 1893, residents of Hopkins sent the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners a petition signed by 41 residents, asking that a separate village be formed from unincorporated portions of then-Minnetonka and Richfield Townships. Following an election, the community was then incorporated as the Village of West Minneapolis with a population of 1,105. The original village consisted of about three square miles, and it has been enlarged by annexation to its present size of about four square miles.
The Hopkins train station, which determined the town’s eventual name, is now a student-run coffee house.
In 1928, the name of the village was changed to Hopkins after Harley H. Hopkins, who was among its first homesteaders and was the community’s first postmaster. Mr. Hopkins allowed the town to build the train depot on his land (now The Depot Coffee House) with the agreement that the train station would say “Hopkins” on it. People getting off the train assumed the name of the town was Hopkins and it stuck. On January 1, 1948, the village became the city of Hopkins, upon adoption of a council–city manager charter.
Education
Public schools
The Hopkins School District serves all or parts of seven Minneapolis west suburban communities: Hopkins, Minnetonka, Golden Valley, Plymouth, Edina, Eden Prairie, and Saint Louis Park. Approximately 8,100 students attend seven elementary schools (K–sixth grade), two junior high schools (7th–9th grade), and one high school (10th–12th grade). Some students attend public schools in other school districts chosen by their families under Minnesota’s open enrollment statute, as some students from outside Hopkins school district enroll in Hopkins schools on that basis.
Schools in the Hopkins School District
Elementary schools Junior high school Senior high school
Alice Smith Elementary Hopkins West Junior High Hopkins High School
Eisenhower Elementary Hopkins North Junior High
Gatewood Elementary
Glen Lake Elementary
Olympians
Larry Bader – 1972 Sapporo Olympics. Participated in Hockey. 1967 Hopkins High Graduate.
Joan Guetschow – 1992 Albertvile Olympics and1994 Lillehammer Olympics. Participated in Biathlon. 1985 Hopkins High Graduate.
Robert Kempainen – 1992 Barcelona Olympics and 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Participated in Men’s Marathon. 1984 Hopkins High Graduate.
Garrott Kuzzy – 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Participated in Cross Country Skiing. 2002 Hopkins High Graduate.
Craig Lincoln – 1972 Munich Olympics. Awarded Bronze Medalist in Diving. 1968 Hopkins High Graduate.
Kathryn Johnson – 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Participated in Rugby. 2001 Hopkins High Graduate.
Pat Marcy – 1976 Montreal Olympics. Participated in Greco-Roman Wrestling. 1968 Hopkins High Graduate. Augsburg’s first N.A.I.A. (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) National Champion in 1972. He was a four-time National Greco-Roman Champion, being voted the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler twice. A member of three U.S.A. World Teams (1974, 1975, and 1977) placing as high as 7th in the world. He won the Pan-American Games gold medal in 1975. He was a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 1976, where he placed 10th. A member of the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame, he was successful in all three styles of wrestling, Folkstyle, Freestyle and Greco-Roman.
Dave Snuggerud – 1988 Calgary Olympics. Participated in Men’s Hockey. 1984 Hopkins Lindbergh Graduate.
Larry Zilverberg – 1976 Montreal Olympics. Participated in Wrestling. 1971 Hopkins Lindbergh Graduate.