The then larger village of Vestervig, 7 km (4 mi) further west, was the traditional centre of the area, but opted against getting a railway station.

Today the biggest industries are Ideal Combi (windows), with more than 500 employees, Huma (mattresses) and a furniture factory.

Hurup was the home town of Lars Larsen, founder of the Jysk retail chain and one of Denmark's wealthiest persons.

By the turn of the century, Hurup, which, in addition to the railroad, was also favored by its location on the mainland road, by church, preschool, school, primary school, real school, doctorate, Thylands Bank (established October 1 1895), hotel, catering, brewery, marketplace (markets in February, June and September), grocery stores, machinery and iron foundry, dairy, woolen spinach, hot tub, export warehouse, cement factory, railway and telegraph station.

[3] About 1920, Hurup was designated as a "Growing Parish and Station City" with church (with a runestone found in 1910), mission house, preschool, schools, middle and real school, cooperative bank, power station, waterworks, marketplace, several major grocery stores and industrial plants such as dairy, brewery, machine plant and iron foundry, cement factories, sawmills etc.