Cooper Falls

Thomas and Emma Cooper founded Coopers Falls after deciding to relocate from Fawkham England to Canada. The couple already had two children. On the way to Canada, aboard a ship on the St. Lawrence River, the couple had their third child, Albert Lawrence Cooper. Albert Cooper is the father to Oliver Cooper, a soldier in the First World War. In 1864 Thomas and Emma built the regions first needed sawmill on the Black River. The area was about 1.5 km from Black River and near a waterfall that would later be renamed Coopers Falls. In 1874 a log schoolhouse was built for the growing community. By 1878 Thomas opened a post office and a store. Throughout the next couple of years of development, the village grew to include a cheese factory, a blacksmith shop and two churches, one Anglican and one Methodist. The town also had an outdoor community hockey arena and a team that competed aganist the larger villages like Orilla and Washugo. Coopers Falls heavily relied on the logging industry and homed about 1000 population.

The Coopers Falls mill was strong and prospering until 1925 when devastation to the village occurred. Thomas Cooper’s son, William who had a steam-powered sawmill that worked on Black River, had an accident that resulted in his death. William left nine children behind. The town went on a decline and in 1968 Frank Cooper, son of William, closed the Cooper’s Falls general store and post office. Coopers Falls is about 10 km east of Washago. The town can still be visited but many buildings have been destroyed or boarded up. The town is now thought to have a population of 14 residents. The Anglican Church, St George’s is still a running church with Sunday masses.

St George's Anglican Church

OLIVER HORACE COOPER

Oliver Horace Cooper was born in Cooper Falls, Ontario on January 3, 1889 into a family of ten. Oliver Cooper survived the war and passed away in 1974 at 85. He was discharged on August 22 1918 for demobilization. He had five children with Bertha Hazel Gray. He is the grandson of Thomas Cooper and Emma Cooper, the founders of Cooper’s Falls. He was drafted to serve in the Royal Canadian Expeditionary Forces on June 8, 1918 at 28 years old. He is believed to have lived in Muskoka, Ontario after the war.

The son of Oliver Cooper, Edgar Cooper  who died in battle in Second World War at the age of 21

Marriage Certificate of Oliver Cooper and Bertha Hazel Gray

Oliver Cooper's grave located in Coopers Falls

The enlistment record of Oliver Cooper which displays Coopers Falls as his birthplace