HAUNTED NAPA: The Hatt Building Traditional Cache
Hemlock: Since the cache owner has not responded to the previous note, I'm archiving this cache to clear it off the map.
When/if this cache is replaced, please email me at hemlock@geocachingadmin.com and if it is still within the guidelines for cache placement and publishing, I'll be happy to unarchive it.
Hemlock
Volunteer Geocache Reviewer
HAUNTED NAPA: The Hatt Building
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
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Of all the locations in Napa with paranormal history, the Hatt
Building may be the most active and widely witnessed. Constructed
in 1884 by Captain Alfred Hatt, this building now houses the Napa
River Inn, Sweetie Pies Bakery, as well as several other
businesses. Alfred and his wife, Alma, were member’s of
Napa’s innermost social circle. Alfred managed a very
successful grain and hay business complete with its own riverboat
which docked at the building and transported supplies to and from
Vallejo. Alma owned and managed the Oyster House and Resturant on
the first floor of the Napa Opera House just down Main Street from
her husband’s business.
Their storybook life came to an end on January 16, 1989, when Alma
passed away in the night after a brief battle with pneumonia.
Stricken with grief, Alfred walked away from the grain business and
handed over control to his son, Alfred, Jr. Unable to cope with his
wife’s death, Alfred’s health deteriorated quickly
leading to his death a few years later.
Unlike his father, Alfred, Jr. struggled at the helm of the family
business. Competition from other grain companies as well as a long
and costly court battle over control of the riverboat drove the
business into financial ruin. Tragedy again struck the Hatt family
when Alfred’s wife, Margaret, became deathly ill in October
of 1905. Margaret’s long struggle with the illness ended on
March 29, 1906 with her passing. Margaret’s death left Alfred
in sole care of five young children and a faltering business.
Alfred pressed on for six years before his health also began to
decline. Unable to deal with the sadness any longer, Alfred tied a
rope to a ceiling beam in the warehouse (present day Sweetie Pies)
and hung himself on April 1, 1912.
Guests at the Napa River Inn have reported hearing footsteps and
the swooshing of a heavy skirt coming from an empty second floor
hallway. Much of the activity is centered around rooms 207 and 208
(directly above where Alfred, Jr. committed suicide) where guests
have witnessed the unexplained opening and closing of doors. Many
have even seen the faint have speculated that the spirit of the
second floor is that of Margaret Hatt.
A couple staying at the inn claims to have encountered a spirit
walking down the stairs from the second floor in 2003. The couple
approached a non-descript man descending the stairs and asked him
where the inn’s resturant was located. The man replied,
“There is no dining establishment. This is Napa Milling
and I am the owner, Robert Keig.” The man continued past
them, and as he did, the couple detected a strong smell of hay and
grain. Confused, the couple turned around to inquire further with
the strange man but he was gone. The couple continued through the
lobby and glancing at a the historic photographs on the wall.
Astonished, the couple stumbled across a photograph of Robert Keig
and found out that he had died many decades prior.
Inside Sweetie Pies, patrons have seen what appears to be
momentary, near-transparent images of one to three workman
stitching up grain sacks and loading hay near the counter of the
eatery. Another apparition, believed to be that belonging to
Alfred, Jr., has been witnessed hanging from the end of a rope near
the ceiling.
Congrats to MartianRabbit for first to find !
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Tebhaq yriry, ivfvoyr sebz gur evire fvqr.