Los Alamos in Los Alamos County, New Mexico — The American Mountains (Southwest)
William Mackwood Hopper
Los Alamos Homestead Tour
— Site 1 • Marker 2 —
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 24, 2015
1. William Mackwood Hopper Marker
Homestead Entry: August 1908
Harold H. Brook
Purchase: 1914
Los Alamos Ranch School
Purchase: 1917
William Mackwood Hopper met Harold Brook when they both lived in Santa Fe. In August 1908, four days after Brook applied for homestead entry here, Hopper applied for an adjacent 130-acre homestead. Hopper seems to have grown tired of homestead life on the plateau. He and Brook received patent on the same day, March 6, 1914. Hopper immediately sold his holdings to Brook and left New Mexico. Brook, whose tuberculosis continued to plague him, often remarked that he missed Mack terribly because he helped with the work when Brook was too ill to handle it. Part of the chimney of Hopper's cabin still stands behind the Los Alamos Historical Museum, the only remaining remnant of Harold Brook's Los Alamos Ranch, his experimental high-altitude farming complex.
Erected by County of Los Alamos, Fuller Lodge/Historic Districts Advisory Board, and Los Alamos Historic Society.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1908.
Location. 35° 52.957′ N, 106° 18.092′ W. Marker is in Los Alamos, New Mexico, in Los Alamos County. Marker
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Harold H. Brook (here, next to this marker); Albert J. Connell (here, next to this marker); Homesteading on the Pajarito Plateau, 1887-1942 (a few steps from this marker); Martha Brook (a few steps from this marker); The Romero Cabin (a few steps from this marker); Fuller Lodge (within shouting distance of this marker); Los Alamos Post Office (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Manhattan Project Era (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Los Alamos.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Los Alamos Historical Walking Tour
Also see . . . Figures In New Mexico History: Mackwood Hopper. Hopper was born in 1871 on a farm in Yorkshire, England. He emigrated to the United States in 1893, entering through Ellis Island. In his first years he worked as a lumberjack, a miner, and a construction worker, eventually making his way to Oregon. By early 1908 Hopper was in Illinois, but soon he was wandering westward again, headed for California. His route took him to Santa Fe, and there he met a
Los Alamos Historical Society Archives
2. Marker detail: William Mackwood Hopper
Mackwood Hopper, visiting Los Alamos in 1951, stands beside the chimney he built for his homestead cabin in 1908.
3. Marker detail: property map
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 24, 2015
4. William Mackwood Hopper Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on September 25, 2020. It was originally submitted on September 23, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 154 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 24, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
