My Hometown
Coppock family history would not be complete without mentioning Le Mars, Iowa, home to over four generations of Coppock's.. Harvey J Coppock, our great-grandfather, and his young wife Mary Jane (Horton) moved from Carroll County, Iowa, to Le Mars in the mid-1880's. The original Coppock house was located on Silver Street (believed to now be 8th Street SW).
Six Coppock children (4 daughters and 2 sons) were born and raised in that house, including our grandfather, Arnold Coppock.
In 1910, the population of Le Mars was about 4,100. The history of Le Mars dates back to the early 1850's when white settlers arrived to the region known as Plymouth County. In 1869, the town got its name when railroad builder John Blair arrived by special train with a company of officials and a group of ladies. Legend has it that the ladies wrote down the 1st initials of their 1st names and created the town's name from those letters. Whatever, the railroad junction was renamed "Le Mars".
Le Mars can attribute its cultural and social growth to the English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh. William B Close and his 3 brothers, all from England, created the Iowa Land Company in the 1870's. The Close family was well connected socially and financially in England. They encouraged upper-class Englishmen to buy land for farms and ranches and to set up banks and other businesses in NW Iowa.
By 1880, Le Mars was one of the most well-known cities in the USA by British people. The Close Brothers were promoting the farming occupation to wealthy British families as opportunities for their 2nd and 3rd sons, even providing schools for them to learn to be "gentlemen farmers". Hundreds of British immigrants migrated to Le Mars during the 1880's. As a result, by 1890, the town prospered.
Keep in mind that in Great Britain, the oldest son inherited everything. Daughters were expected to marry, and other sons were often left to find jobs. This provided an answer for those wealthy "pups". As a result, Le Mars also became a center of sports activity and athletic competition since these pups weren't exactly interested in farming 24/7.
Did you know....golf was first introduced west of the Mississippi in and around Le Mars circa 1880?
Did you know...Le Mars polo teams competed as far away as St. Louis in championship polo games?
Did you know...that these "remittance men" as the pups were later known, received monthly checks from their older brothers in England? (My parents went to high school with one of the "remittance men". His name escapes me, but I do remember him always eating in the Pantry Cafe when I was a little boy. According to Grandpa, "he never worked a day in his life". LOL
Le Mars has a special place in my heart. It will always be "home" even though I have no desire to live there now. I'm sure Connie feels the same way. It's strange to think that though our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents all lived their lives there, the three "kids" (Jan, Connie, and I) never went back after graduating from college.
Another reason for writing the blog this weekend is that RAGBRAI begins tomorrow, July 25, 2021. Where? Le Mars, of course! Thousands of bicyclists are gathered there today and tonight, partying and enjoying Blue Bunny ice cream and hot dogs or taverns from Bob's Drive-In. Don't you wish you were there? (In 2005, one of the 4 years that I did the ride, it also started in Le Mars.)
When my Mother, Helen, died 6 years ago this month, it marked the end of a long history of Coppock's in Le Mars, dating back to 1884. 4 generations of Coppock's are remembered at the Le Mars Memorial Cemetery. If you ever have occasion to be near Le Mars, pay a visit to their gravesites.
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