N. P. R.
As you sit and reach for the cache, looking away from the river, you will see the vacant N. P. R. building. In business for 45 years in the town of Peace River, it's where I ran around as a little boy and where I worked after school in high school. My dad closed the shop down and sold the land in 2012 as all the children had moved on in other directions for careers. N. P. R. had a mascot of a fur trader with a beaver skin had carrying a block of ice (pictured below). The mascot is based on the town of Peace River legend - 12 Foot Davis.
Looking towards the river will give you a view of the statue of 12 Foot Davis. The statue was on the banks of the Heart River when I grew up. The new location gives a better view of the Mighty Peace and provides parking and a nice playground for the kids.
12 FOOT DAVIS
Born in the hills of Vermont (U.S.A.) in 1820, H.F. (Henry Fuller) Davis came to be a legend in the Peace River Country. During his long and colourful career as a prospector and trader in western Canada, he established a reputation for shrewd, but honest dealings with Natives and white men alike.
One of the original "Forty Niners" of the California gold rush, he soon moved on to the Cariboo area of east central British Columbia. By the time Davis arrived, all the prime claim areas had been staked out. Davis discovered that there was a 12-foot (3.4 metres) gap between two existing claims. He filed on this narrow strip and within a short period of time, had extracted $12,000 dollars worth of gold from it. This was the origin of the nickname he bore for the rest of his life ‘Twelve Foot’ Davis.
He moved on to the Peace River area, where he used his new wealth to establish a string of trading posts. Even when he was gone for prolonged lengths of time, Twelve Foot Davis’s cabin was never closed to anyone who chose to avail themselves to his absentee hospitality.
The marker at his gravesite overlooking the town of Peace River reads:
Twelve Foot Davis
Pathfinder, Pioneer, Miner and Trader
He was Every Man’s Friend and Never
Locked his cabin Door
As always, practice safe caching.
- Bring a pen.
- Please replace cache container to its proper place.
- Have fun. What a great way to enjoy the outdoors.