Lewis and Clark's Columbia River
Lewis & Clark's Columbia River - "200 Years Later"
"Coopey Creek, Coopey Falls, and the Jacobson Villa, Bridal Veil, Oregon"
Includes ... Coopey Falls ... Coopey Creek ... Jacobson Villa ... Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist ...
Image, 2016, Jacobson Villa and Coopey Falls, Historic Columbia River Highway, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Jacobson Villa and Coopey Falls, Historic Columbia River Highway, Oregon. Image taken March 17, 2016.

Today the Jacobson Villa is the home of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist.


Coopey Falls ...
Coopey Falls on Coopey Creek is located along Oregon's Historic Columbia River Highway, one mile east of Bridal Veil. The 150-foot-high falls are located behind a convent located by the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist. To the east lies the massive basalt ridge of Angels Rest.

Coopey Creek ...
Coopey Creek enters the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 132.5, directly across from Phoca Rock. Downstream is Bridal Veil Creek and upstream is Angel's Rest and Dalton Point.

H.H. Riddell wrote (Mazama, vol.5, 1916):

"... Just west of Angels Rest a small creek drops over a precipice forming Coopey falls. It is a pleasing sight, especially when the stream is flowing bank-full after a storm. ... "

Image, 2016, Coopey Creek, Historic Columbia River Highway, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Coopey Creek, Historic Columbia River Highway, Oregon. Image taken March 17, 2016.


Early Coopey Falls ...
According to McArthur and McArthur in "Oregon Geographic Names" (2003, Oregon Historical Society), Coopey Falls and Coopey Creek were named for Charles Coopey, a well-known tailor in Portland, who owned land adjacent to the falls.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office (GLO) Records database (2013) shows Charles Coopey being granted title on June 26, 1906, to 160 acres of T1N, R5E, Section 13, and T1N, R6E, Section 18 (1820 Sale-Cash Entry).


Coopey Falls in 1940 ...
From the Oregon State Archives "A 1940 Journey Across Oregon":

"... COOPEY FALLS, 161.9 m., according to Indian legend is at the site of a battle of giants." ..."


Image, 2016, Coopey Falls, Historic Columbia River Highway, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Coopey Falls, Historic Columbia River Highway, Oregon. Image taken March 17, 2016.


Jacobson Villa ...
In 1915 Clarence Jacobson purchased the land along Coopey Creek below Coopey Falls. The architects he chose to built his "Italian Villa" were then chosen by Simon Benson in 1920 to build his Columbia Gorge Hotel near Hood River.

"In 1915, Clarence Jacobson, a well-to-do Portland clothier and his heiress wife, Dorothy, purchased fifteen acres along Coopey Creek near Bridal Veil. The Jacobsons hired Morris H. Whitehouse to design a mansion in the "Italian villa" style. Italian stonemasons, recruited from among the highway workers, were engaged to construct fish ponds, walks, steps, bridges and other stone work on the grounds. A carriage house near the gated entry provided living quarters for the Jacobson's chauffeur and garage space for the couple's automobiles. The plans included a swimming pool, a powerhouse utilizing Coopey Creek to generate electricity, and formal gardens, among other amenities. The mansion contained several guest rooms, a full basement and open, vaulted living room. The former Jacobson mansion is now owned by the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, who are engaged in restoring the building." [Clarence E. Mershon, 2006, The Columbia River Highway, From the Sea to the Wheat Fields of Eastern Oregon: Guardian Peaks Enterprises, Portland, Oregon.]

PALATIAL HOME TO RISE
C.S. Jacobson Will Have Residence Along Columbia Highway

"Clarence S. Jacobson, manager of Neustadter Bros., is planning the erection of an expensive country residence on a beautifully situated six-acre tract along the Columbia River Highway, which he has just purchased from Charles Coopey. The site is located between Shepperd's Dell and Benson Park and embraces what is known as Coopey Falls, as well as all land between the falls and the highway.

Mr. Jacobson has selected Whitehouse & Fouilhoux as architects for his proposed residence, but has not yet determined definitely upon the plans. It is known, however, that he is planning a large stucco residence of the Italian villa type, with open air swimming tank and many other features which may bring the cost to $40,000 or $50,000. The Jacobson villa will be the first palatial residence to be erected along the Columbia Highway."


Source:    Morning Oregonian, August 12, 1916, courtesy Historic Oregon Newspaper Archives, University of Oregon Libraries.



Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist ...
In the early 1970s, the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist purchased the Jacobson villa and turned it into their mission.

"A restored villa surrounded by the beauty of forests and gardens in the Columbia Gorge serves as a community base for the Sisters and provides a setting for group meetings and children's environmental camps. Anyone who visits the Bridal Veil center becomes aware of the Franciscan mission of "rebuilding." The dilapidated condition of the buildings in the early 1970s did not dissuade the Sisters from seeing the beauty hidden within the property and from pursuing a vision of what the place could be. Untold hours of work by the Sisters and volunteers went into the restoration of the buildings and grounds. Today, the Bridal Veil center is a living, physical example of the greater Franciscan mission of rebuilding, a mission carried out in many ways through the center's dedication to life education of the whole person." [Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist website, 2016]

Views ...

Image, 2016, Jacobson Villa, Historic Columbia River Highway, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Jacobson Villa and Coopey Falls, Historic Columbia River Highway, Oregon. Image taken March 17, 2016.
Image, 2016, Jacobson Villa, Historic Columbia River Highway, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Jacobson Villa, Historic Columbia River Highway, Oregon. Image taken March 17, 2016.
Image, 2016, Jacobson Villa, Historic Columbia River Highway, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Carriage House, Jacobson Villa, Historic Columbia River Highway, Oregon. Image taken March 17, 2016.


Coopey Falls, etc.

  • Historic Columbia River Highway ...
  • Stone House Across the Highway ...


Historic Columbia River Highway ...
Coopey Falls can barely be seen from the Historic Columbia River Highway.

Image, 2013, Coopey Falls, Oregon, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Coopey Falls, Oregon, as seen from the Historic Columbia River Highway. Image taken March 3, 2013.


Stone House Across the Highway ...
(to come)

Image, 2011, Historic Columbia River Highway, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Stone house, Historic Columbia River Highway, located across from Coopey Falls. View shot through front window moving car. Image taken July 1, 2011.
Images, 2015, Historic Columbia River Highway, Oregon, click to enlarge
Click image to enlarge 		Stone House across from Coopey Falls, Historic Columbia River Highway, Oregon. Image taken March 30, 2015.


From the Journals of Lewis and Clark ...

Clark, October 30, 1805 ...



Columbia River GorgeReturn to
Menu		  





*River Miles [RM] are approximate, in statute miles, and were determined from USGS topo maps, obtained from NOAA nautical charts, or obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers website, 2003

Sources:
  • Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist website, 2016;
  • Historic Oregon Newspapers Archives, University of Oregon Libraries;
  • McArthur, L.A., and McArthur, L.L., 2003, Oregon Geographic Names, Oregon Historical Society;
  • Mershon, C.E., 2006, The Columbia River Highway, From the Sea to the Wheat Fields of Eastern Oregon: Guardian Peaks Enterprises, Portland, Oregon;
  • Northwest Waterfall Survey website, 2013, Bryan Swan, "waterfallsnorthwest.com";
  • Riddell, H.H., 1916, "The Lesser Waterfalls Along the Columbia, IN: Mazama, vol.5, 1916;
  • University of Oregon Libraries Columbia River Basin Digital Collection, 2013, "Official Columbia Highway Tour", 1916, Published by The Scenic Tours Company, Portland, Oregon;
  • U.S. Bureau of Land Management General Land Office (GLO) Records database, 2013;


All Lewis and Clark quotations from Gary Moulton editions of the Lewis and Clark Journals, University of Nebraska Press, all attempts have been made to type the quotations exactly as in the Moulton editions, however typing errors introduced by this web author cannot be ruled out; location interpretation from variety of sources, including this website author.
/Regions/Places/coopey_falls.html
March 2016