Page Index

• Jacobson Residence / The Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist Abbey
• Coopey Falls
• Coopey Falls Service Station, Restaurant & Auto Court
• Dalton Falls
• "New" Dalton Falls (Milepost 31 Falls)

What we think of as the hamlet of Bridal Veil today was originally thought of as a separate community, Coopey Falls. Bridal Veil, originally, was only considered to be the "lumber mill town in a small valley below the highway" and, I am guessing, the houses and businesses west of the current Bridal Veil Junction. (Oregon State Archives: A 1940 Journey Across Oregon)

"To the east [of Bridal Veil], the small town of Coopey Falls... (named after Charles Coopey) is quickly passed. Once the site of a service station, tourist cabins and restaurant, only a few dwellings have survived, including those on the grounds of the beautiful convent of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist [Jacobson Residence]."

OregonHikers.org: Coopey Falls

Coopey Creek is named for Charles Coopey, a Brisith born tailor who settled in Portland and was one of the founders of the Portland Woolen Mill in St. Johns. Coopey owned 1200 acres of land around Wahkeena Falls, Multnomah Creek and Devils Rest, which he called "Eagle Eyrie". In the summer of 1915, Coopey gave permission for a portion of the Larch Mountain Trail to be built across land he owned. According to the Trails Club of Oregon, Coopey furnished the coffee for the first hike to Devils Rest, done by the club in 1918.

Cooper, a tailor by profession, had a vision of a textile village with an industry that would utilize the constant waterpower supply for spinning and weaving and the pure water of Wahkeena Falls (which he owned) for wool scouring. He also applied to the State Engineer in Salem for an application to appropriate water from Multnomah and Peterson Creeks for power development purposes. The cost of developing the power was estimated at $20,000.

In 1921, Coopey built a 20 horsepower generator on the creek to light a sign promoting Oregon 1925 Exposition. According to an article in The Oregonian, Coopey "conceived the idea of displaying the insignia of Oregon's brilliant exposition for all America by producing a truly hydro-electric sign bearing the figures "1925" right in front of his summer cottage where all can see as they motor swiftly by. The power that generates the motor from which the electricity is produced is taken from the falls at a point 60 feet below a dam that forms a beautiful silvery lake just a few feet from the highway. This water is led to the powerhouse by means of a 12-inch pipe where a water wheel operates a 20-horsepower generator. From this plant 750 Incandescent lights can be produced 24 hours each day."

Before Coopey owned the property along the creek it was owned by the Luscher family. Walter R. Horton, who moved to Bridal Veil in 1889, recalls he and his friends used to call the creek Ben Luscher Creek.

Links

Columbia River Images: Coopey Creek, Coopey Falls, and the Jacobson Villa, Bridal Veil, Oregon

Includes ... Coopey Falls ... Coopey Creek ... Jacobson Villa ... Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist ...

http://columbiariverimages.com/Regions/Places/coopey_falls.html

CLICK HERE to continue exploring the highway