It is not surprising that the name of the animal that exercised such influence in the history of the West should be attached to so many geographic features. There are three post offices in Oregon with Beaver as the dominant part of the name and several score of creeks, mountains, and buttes. Beaver post office in Tillamook County was established in August 1889. The American beaver (Castor canadensis and its subspecies) occupied a wide field on this continent and existed in great numbers. Beavers are heavily built and are covered with long, coarse hairs overlying the short, dense, and silky underfur to which beaver skins owe their value. The abundance and high value of this fur had a great influence in the early exploration and development of North America. Beaver skins were the one ready product of the western world that the merchants elsewhere were eager to purchase, and as a consequence the competition in trapping was keen to the point where it caused international complications. Beaver skins passed as a standard of barter.

Beavers belong to the rodent family, a group notable for low mental pow- ers. Beavers are an exception to this rule, however. They have extraordinary intelligence, though probably not as great as sometimes stated. They apparently understand something about hydraulic operations and save themselves much labor by digging canals for floating and transporting sticks and branches needed for food. They live entirely on twigs and bark and have a gnawing capacity that is startling. There appears to be no truth in the reports that they use their flat tails as trowels, and they do not transport mud thereon. This is done by means of their front paws. The beaver is considered to be a symbol of industry, and pioneers of Oregon were quick to associate this idea with the new commonwealth. The first money was known as "Beaver Money."

SPOTLIGHT

The community of Beaver is located on Highway 101. The Nestucca River flows through this small settlement.