As Cornelius O'keefe and his partners wondered through the Okanagan Valley, they found the untouched land to be perfect for their herds of cattle and ranching lifestyle. Through world wars and great depressions, the O'Keefes claimed the 12,acres, stretching through the valley, which later was sold to farmers as they settled in the area. The O'Keefe family continued to live in the beautiful victorian houses they built until mid when O'Keefe's son decided to open the ranch as the heritage site we know and love today!
Augustine Mackie, brought pupils from all over to the Okanagan. The Mackie's then bought this eclectic house in and soon furnished it with luxurious collectables. Today, it's the hosting site to many victorian style tea parties, garden parties, and house tours! Did you know that the Okanagan Science Centre is actually the oldest surviving brick schoolhouse in British Columbia? The building is also acknowledged of it's masterful Victorian Italianate architectural design. However, it's recognizable today as the Okanagan Science Centre!
Pictured here, a group of students and teachers standing at the front of the building The Caetani Cultural Centre is a perfect snapshot of history still surviving. Pictured here are Ofelia wife of Leone, 25 and daughter Sveva aged 3 who lived a life of wealth and privilege. Once her father passed, Sveva's life changed drastically as she was limited to outside socialization by her mother Click "Learn more" to read the full story!
Girouard Cabin is associated with the process of establishing a community in Vernon. Built in , the Cabin was used as the first post office from to ! In the cabin was moved to Polson Park and used as the lawn blowing clubhouse for the next75 years. In , gold was discovered in Cherry Creek about 40 kilometres east of Vernon. Luc Girouard is known as the first permanent white settler in the Vernon area c. Anglican and Protestant churches would soon arrive.
The District of Coldstream retains this name to this day and the nearby city was named in honour of Forbes Vernon. In the same year Francis Barnard, of the BX Express fame, started a ranch north of Vernon to breed his horses for use in his stagecoach business which was a formative influence in the early days of British Columbia. This is the same year that the first town site was settled due in large part to satisfy the needs of the surrounding ranches.
Price Ellison was also a very influential rancher, businessman and politician in the area and had his ranch near the bottom of East Hill. Vernon was at one time c. Then, in , E. Tronson and Charles Brewer laid out a townsite and gave Vernon its fourth name: Centreville.
In , Vernon was finally incorporated as a city of British Columbia. It became home to banks, hotels, schools, a fire hall, a hospital, a city newspaper, a courthouse and many varieties of stores.
The first name given to the location now known as Vernon was the Salish Nintle Moos Chin or "jumping over place where the creek narrows," which describes a section of Swan Lake Creek that now passes under Vernon's main street.
Fur traders began travelling through the area after David Stuart explored for the Pacific Fur Company in The presence of priests in the valley circa led to a second name, Priest's Valley. The first settlement in what was to become Vernon began in the s, following the discovery of gold in the nearby Monashee Mountains.
The establishment of several large ranches followed. A townsite, Centreville, was laid out in and the name was changed to Vernon in in honour of Forbes George Vernon, a pioneer settler who became chief commissioner of Lands and Works for British Columbia. Fruit growing began in the early s but agriculture greatly progressed when an irrigation ditch, the Grey Canal, was built in to supply water to farms and orchards surrounding Vernon. Vernon's military history began in with the formation of the Okanagan Mounted Rifles.
This camp continues to function today as a summer training centre for cadets. Vernon is now a prosperous marketing and distribution centre for the northern Okanagan Valley. Lumber, agriculture, light manufacturing and tourism form the economic base.
0コメント