On Sunday afternoon November 16, 1952, Hopkins was struck by a tornado which greatly damaged the downtown business district.

Hopkins was the first town in the United States of under 1,000 people to receive federal disaster relief.

The cleanup was under the direction of Landon Wallace; the local Ford salesman and also the Hopkins Fire Chief.

In the first half the 20th century Rancho del Rayo which was at least 3,900 acres[10] claimed to be the biggest hereford ranch in the state of Missouri.

[11] In September, 1933, the Missouri Highway Patrol cornered and killed Harold B. Thornbrugh a Kansas outlaw, who at the time was living in New Market, Iowa.

[12] During World War II Hopkins a town of less than 1,000 at the time lost fourteen men.

This included two brothers Charles and George Russell who died in April, 1945 within twenty-four hours of each other.

Charles drowned in the Pacific and George was accidentally shot in Germany while guarding prisoners of war.

Carl Melvin went down with the USS Indianapolis, and Charles Pistole was killed at Tarawa while operating a landing craft.

Hopkins was the final home of jockey Clive Dixon and his wife Betty June, who trained and owned the National Appaloosa Show Champion, Two-Eyed Sioux.

Hopkins is located at the intersection of Missouri routes 148 and 246 approximately two miles south of the Missouri-Iowa border.

The East Fork One Hundred and Two River flows past the north and west sides of the community and meets with the West Fork to form the One Hundred and Two River about three miles southwest of the community.

[13] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.72 square miles (1.86 km2), all land.