Oliver House - A Piece of History Traditional Cache
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Oliver House - A Piece of History
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Accurate to 6 meters
Elevation 1077 ft.
This cache is on private property. You can park inside the gate on the driveway. Feel free to say hi if you see the owners. Please only access during daylight hours.
The Oliver House was built in 1928 by its owner Harold Wright. Wright was appointed the Councillor General by BC Premier John Oliver (who the town of Oliver was named after) and relocated to the area after the irrigation canal was built in 1923. The irrigation canal made this dry desert landscape the perfect place for growing cantaloupe, other ground crops and tree fruit. Harold Wright’s job was to encourage World War I veterans to relocate to the area with their families to take up farming. The recruitment was slow going and Wright’s scope increased to also recruit veterans from England.
Harold Wright tried growing tobacco on his property and used the barn further up the road to the west for processing. The barn is now used for food dehydrating by the Okanagan Gleaners who send soup mixes and apple chips to underdeveloped nations. Wright did not make any money in tobacco and switched to growing apples and peaches.
Wright was a key person in building of the Anglican Church in Oliver. The building was designed in the classic stone style and still stands today on Fairview road up the street from the post office. Another of Wright’s business ventures was as a partner with the Fairweather brothers in the Oliver Sawmill. The Fairweather brothers owned the Old Fairview Hotel (also known as the Big Teepee) which burned down in 1902 in the gold rush town of Fairview. The town of Fairview died when the gold dried up in the early 1900’s. The empty town site is 5 kms west of Oliver. The mill eventually closed too, but not until 1967 when the new owner, Weyerhaeuser, consolidated their mills in Okanagan Falls.
While you are looking around at this amazing piece of history take a look up at the 90 year old spruce trees. You might get a glimpse of the Great Horned Owl who nests here or her growing chicks.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Jul vf gung gurer?
Treasures
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