Fred William Hooper

Fred William Hooper, son of Thomas Barney Hooper and Laura E. Curtis, was born 06 Oct 1897, Cleveland, White CO, GA, died 04 Aug 2000, Bal Harbor, Dade CO, FL

He and Charles (Chick) Miller came to Flagler County in the early 1920's from Georgia and stayed in temporary quarters on a farm in Bimini on the corner of now S. R. 100 and the Espanola road and farmed.

His father, Thomas Barney Hooper and his stepmother, Carribelle and children Mel Dean and Veldia came later and lived on the farm in Bimini. Two brothers, Clarence and Milan and their families came and worked with Hooper Construction Company. There were several other brothers and a sister, including Joe, Grant and Martha, who never resided in Flagler County.

Fred was raised on a farm in White CO, GA where his father raised cotton, corn and wheat. He said that his father wanted to grow more corn and more cotton on an acre that anybody else - - his father's pursuit of excellence rubbed off on Fred. Fred was good at cutting hair so he went to barber college in Atlanta. He came to this area in the 1920's and tried growing potatoes in Hastings. A freeze wiped him out so he cut pine trees and shipped them to Jacksonville.

Then, beginning with a contract to help build the road from St Augustine to Daytona Beach, Hooper got into the heavy construction business, building roads and bridges. One of his first job as a contractor was paving Oceanshore Blvd in Flagler Beach - he dug out some of the native coquina rock, crushed it and surfaced the highway with it.....if it hadn't been for that rock, you probably never would have heard of Fred Hooper - he lived here from the early 1920's until the middle 1930's.

In Mar 1927, an article in The Flagler Tribune noted that he was constructing a residence on the corner of Moody Blvd and Moore Street in Bunnell. It was of Spanish design and was estimated to cost $12,500 with E. E. Johnston of New Smyrna Beach as contractor. The home was later owned by George Elliott Allen, Jr and Johnnie Maxine Buckles, The house has been torn down and is now the location of a Little Champ convenience store and gas station.

In May 1931, according to an article in the Flagler Tribune, he and his wife informed the Baptist Church in Bunnell that they would release a mortgage which they held against the church free of cost to the members of the church, provided the church "acquire additionl vacant lots adjacent to the church building, and which it is anticipated will be used in the future for the expansion of the church building."

The church building was located just east of the county courthouse on Moody Boulevard and was constructed in 1925 as a theater and shortly after the church was organized, was purchased by Mr and Mrs Hooper who in turn sold it to the Baptist Church, retaining a mortgage for the unpaid balance.

In Sep 1931, the Hooper Construction Company was one of the bidders on the $9,000,000 flood control project for Lake Okeechobee. That same month, Fred said he was going to stock his farm in Flagler CO with purebred Hereford cattle - he had previously bought four heifers and two Hereford bulls at auction in Wayne CO, GA and already had them on his farm.

In a story in the May 1978 Flagler Tribune it stated that he built the Perkins Highway between Bunnell and DeLand. He was in the construction business for 33 years in the Southeast. Hooper Construction Company of Miami and Montgomery, AL, which he founded in 1925, was acquired by General Development Corporation in 1966 in exchange for 270,679 shares of common stock, valued in excess of $4 million.

In 1938, the Hooper horse "Royal Prince" was run in two races of one half mile each in Kingsland,, GA - those attending from Bunnell were Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Barney Hooper, Veldia Hooper, Helen Hooper, Robert William Deen, Robert Wallace Deen, and Gordon Walker. This was the horse which got Hooper started in horse racing.

In 1943, Fred went to the yearling sale in Lexington, KY and purchased a yearling he thought looked likely to be a winning horse and named it Hoop, Jr. In 1945 Hoop, Jr won the Kentucky Derby with jockey Eddie Arcaro, one of the winningest and savviest jockeys of all racing history, riding on his back.

From 1938 until May 1978, 63 of the stakes winners bred and raised by Hooper had earned a total of $9,672,529.00 with the top horse "Susan's Girl" at $1,251,668. One of his horses was named "Ocean Drive" which was the name given to Oceanshore Boulevard in earlier days. "Ocean Drive" won $133,660 for Hooper.

Fred, in one of the largest realty transactions ever in Flagler CO, sold, in Jul 1946, his holdings in the Bimini area to James L Fly of New York City. The indicated sale price was $100,000. The sale included 4,835 acres of land, two farm homes, four tenant homes, farm tools and a few farm animals. He acquired the original farm holdings around 1926. Fred went into the construction business around 1926 and the farm had been under the management of his father, Thomas B Hooper since 1931.

He established Hooper Farms in the Ocala area in 1966 on 1,100 acres of woodlands which he developed into a gentle, green paradise with neat barns and a training track. He founded the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and served as president of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' Association.

Judge Duane Deen conceived and planned a Former Commissioner Fred Hooper Day which was held on May 11, 1978. Hooper was a commissioner when the courthouse was built. At the festivities, Circuit Judge Billy Wadsworth presented Hooper with a plaque on behalf of American Legion Post 115 which read as follows; "Service Award presented to Fred Hooper in honor and with deep appreciation of the faithful, devoted and valuable service given to Flagler County, Florida."

Hooper responded saying in part: "Flagler County is something I will always remember. The people here were very gracious. I will always have a warm feeling in my heart for Bunnell and Flagler County."

Among those present at the Fred Hooper Day ceremonies were County Commission Chairman Otis Hunter and Circuit Clerk Shelton Barber. Both drove trucks on the Perkins Highway construction job for 15 cents per hour, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and a half a day on Saturday. "And no overtime," Barber recalled.

From The Flagler Tribune account of the celebration the following was gleaned, "He at various times operated a movie house in Bunnell, was a real estate broker, sold used cars and was a Dodge dealer; was appointed a County Commissioner in Jan 1925 and served until December 1926; that he was the commissioner who made the motion to build the Court House and his name is inscribed on the cornerstone; that he gave jobs in his construction company to many young Flagler County boys just starting out; that he gave the land with a large building on it to the Bunnell Baptist Church; and that he had a horse farm in Marion County." He also owned the Kentucky Derby winner, Hoop Jr.

Fred William Hooper married Jun 1926, Deerfield Beach, Broward CO, FL, Ella May Robinson, dau of McCamy Alexander Robinson and Lena Guthrie, born 08 Oct 1903, FL, died 04 Nov 1990, Volusia CO, FL buried Hope Cemetery, now Flagler Palms Memorial Gardens, Flagler CO, FL. She was a Flagler CO school teacher (Div-1937). Issue;

1. Helen Kathryn (Kay) Hooper, born 30 Mar1927, Miami, Dade CO, FL, married 04 Jan 1955, First Baptist Church, Daytona Beach, Volusia CO, FL, John Paul Wheeler

She had her senior recital at the Stetson University School of Music in DeLand on 20 Jan 1948. She was a soprano and was accompanied on the piano by Mrs. Alma Grantham Smoak. Following their wedding day, they went to Scotland and made their home in Edinburgh while John finished his requirements for a Ph.D. degree.

2. Doris Robinson (Robin) Hooper, born 25 Jul 1930, FL, died 28 Feb 2001, Richmond, Henrico CO, VA, buried Westhampton Memorial Park, Richmond, Henrico CO, VA

Robin married 04 Nov 1952, First Baptist Church, Daytona Beach, Volusia CO, FL, James Homer Nance (Div-1953)

Robin Hooper married 2nd, W. N. Phillips of Richmond, VA

Fred William Hooper married Laura Carl Girdner of Nixburg, Coosa CO, AL, dau of Thomas Jefferson Girdner, Sr. and Elizabeth Jane Wilbanks,born about 1912, died 07 Mar 1969, Miami, Dade CO, FL. Issue;

3. Fred W. (Freddie) Hooper, Jr., born 24 Aug 1938, AL, died 23 Jul 2000, Montgomery CO, AL

4. Laura Elizabeth (Betty) Hooper, born 12 Feb 1940, St Vincent’s Hospital, Jacksonville, Duval CO, FL, married Marshall Green

Fred William Hooper married Wanda LNU.

 

Source: The First Families of Flagler by Mary Ketus Deen Holland who cites as her sources, Published Articles.

Additional sources used by the compiler were: 1870 United States Federal Census, Mallard Creek, Meddenburg CO, NC; 1880, 1900, 1910 & 1920 United States Federal Census, Mossy Creek, White CO, GA; 1930 United States Federal Census, Bunnell, Flagler CO, FL; 1930 United States Federal Census, Wateree, Kershaw CO, SC;

WW I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918; Florida Marriage Collection, 1927-2001; Florida Divorce Index, 1927-2001; Social Security Death Index; Alabama Deaths, 1908-1959 Record; Florida Death Index; New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957; Find-A-Grave.com

Interview with Fred Benson Miller, Jr., 17 Apr 2008; The Florida Times Union, Jacksonville, FL, Friday, 31 Oct 1997; The Flagler Tribune, Bunnell, FL, 01 Jul 1926, 29 Feb 1940, 28 Aug 1952, 13 Jan 1955; Thomas Jefferson Girder family information provided by Tiffany Usher via email, 20 Apr 2010; and Hooper Family Information provided by Kay Hooper Wheeler, 26 Sep 2013.

Please send questions, corrections or additions to Sisco Deen, P.O. Box 637, Flagler Beach, FL 32136 or email him at Sisco_Deen@hotmail.com