19489 Saint Croix Trail North
Marine on Saint Croix, MN, USA

John Copas House

The John Copas House is a historic house in the unincorporated community of Copas, Minnesota, United States. Its original owner was an Italian immigrant who settled the property in the early 1850s and built this house around 1880 to enlarge or replace his previous residence. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 for its local significance in the themes of architecture and exploration/settlement. It was nominated for its association with John Copas, an early settler and leading figure in the community platted in 1857 and ultimately named in his honor.

National Register of Historic Places - John Copas House

Statement of Significance:

John Copas, the original owner of this house, was one of the first settlers and a long-time resident of the community variously known as Vasa, Otis, and finally Copas after John Copas himself.

Copas came from Italy in 1848 and after staying awhile in St. Paul, settled in the area which is now known as Copas. Copas and a partner built a log store to serve the needs of the early settlers already in the area.

In 1857 the community was platted and named Vasa. It was expected that a town would grow and prosper by attracting Swedish immigrants. It is recorded that Copas built a house at this time to the south of the Vasa Plat.

The depression of 1857 did much to thwart the sale of land in the community, and the town never developed as planned. Also, the name of the town was changed to Otis as it had been discovered that there was another town named Vasa in Minnesota.

John Copas carried on with the store, however, until 1861 at which time he went into farming. It is recorded in 1881 that he resided in the same house that he had built in 1857 and that the house had been remodeled. His farm at the time included 120 acres.

Again in 1886 there were hopes that the town would develop, spurred by the construction of a railroad line leading from the Twin Cities to Duluth. A post office was established there, and the community was finally named Copas. The town never prospered, and today only a few buildings remain.

The John Copas House and farm were passed on to son Frank Copas in 1894. He lived and farmed there until 1938. In 1964 the present owners purchased the Copas House, the farm buildings, and eight acres of the original farm.