Capt. John Hooper was a son of Robert Hooper and Mary (Polly) Ingalls. In 1811, his father deeded John land on Washington Street in Marblehead near his own house. This land included a house built in 1790, but this was replaced around 1815 (or as early as 1800) by John Hooper’s Federal-style mansion at 187 Washington Street. According to the Hooper Genealogy (1908), “He was known at the beginning of the century as ‘John Hooper, 4th;’ the term changed as he grew older. He was a man of great business energy and shrewdness, combined with much regard for equity and public spirit; amassed a large fortune for those days. Was president of the Marblehead Bank a long time. He built the handsome colonial mansion known as ‘The Hooper House,’ on the northern side of the Square, fronting the Common. He represented the town in the General Court 1819-1821.”