Kamloops is a city in south central British Columbia in Canada, located at the confluence of the two branches of the Thompson River near Kamloops Lake.
The first European explorer, David Stuart, arrived in 1811; he was sent out from Fort Astoria, a Pacific Fur Company post; he spent a winter there with the Secwepemc people. He and Alexander Ross established a post there in May 1812, “Fort Cumcloups”.
The rival North West Company established another post, Fort Shuswap, nearby in the same year. The two operations were merged in 1813 when the North West Company officials in the region bought out the operations of the Pacific Fur Company. After the North West Company’s forced merger with the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1821, the post became known commonly as Thompson’s River Post, or Fort Thompson, which over time became known as Fort Kamloops.
After the fur trade arrived in 1812, Kamloops became the crossroads for horse-drawn pack trains. In the years that followed, Kamloops’ reputation as a bristling locality for trade and commerce was greatly broadened by the gold rush of the 1850s, among other things. Following the arrival of the first permanent ranchers was the railway which came through in 1893; Kamloops continued to be the resting stop for the weary travelers. Kamloops has continued to grow since then with cattle ranching, forestry and mining.
The gold rush of the 1860s and the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, which reached Kamloops from the West in 1883, brought further growth.
Pulp, plywood, veneer, cement, and a copper mine are industries in Kamloops. The Royal Inland Hospital is the city’s largest employer. Thompson River University serves a student body of 10,000.
Hope is located at the confluence of the Fraser and Coquihalla Rivers. Hope is at the eastern end of the Fraser Valley, and is at the southern end of the Fraser Canyon.
The history of European settlement in the town of Hope is linked with the history of the Hudson’s Bay Company and the partnership between the company surveyors and First Nations in establishing a brigade trail through the mountains to Fort Kamloops. When gold was discovered in the Fraser Canyon in 1858, miners from across the continent flocked to British Columbia to seek their fortune in the mountains and creeks. Two years later gold was discovered in the Cariboo and miners migrated further north to seek riches in the area around Barkerville. In order to facilitate the movement of miners and supplies north, and gold south, the government built the Cariboo Wagon Road which allowed merchants and prospectors to travel faster and hopefully more safely.
The Fraser River has been the greatest source of food for the Sto-lo people who formed permanent settlements along the river. Simon Fraser came down the river in 1808. Hudson’s Bay forts such as Hope (built in 1848-49) and Yale gave the Sto-lo access to a wider variety of trade goods, such as steel tools, cooking pots, and guns.
Keremeos is located in the beautiful Similkameen Valley in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. Keremeos’ main industries are horticulture, agriculture, ranching, and wine making. Soft fruits such as apples, cherries, and peaches as well as vegetables are grown in the dry warm climate.
Princeton lies just east of the Cascade Mountains. The Tulameen and Similkameen Rivers converge here. The area’s main industry has been mining of copper, gold, coal, and some platinum.
Gold was found on Nickel Plate Mountain in 1898 in Hedley. The ore was rich but it had to be extracted from the host rock by crushing and chemical treatment.
Wood Carving – Hope, British ColumbiaRoyal Canadian Mounted Police Service Dog “Chip†was killed in the line of duty near Hope on September 13, 1996 while protecting his partner and friend Constable Doug Lewis.RCMP Service Dog “Chip”The Fraser River – The past saw fur traders, the gold rush of 1858, and early settlers. The present sees waters teeming with migrating salmon and a highway and railways confined to the gorge carved by the river. The Fraser River, beautiful, bountiful, and powerful flows in the pattern of our future.“Standoff†Wood CarvingMan inside trunk with bear and fish aboveEagle, wolf, bear carvingRotary International carving – man holding fish, and fish on benchCarver Pete Ryan 1996681 Fraser Avenue – Christ Church – 1861 – This white clapboard, Gothic Revival-styled Anglican Church with leaded glass windows first ministered to gold rush prospectors.A Labyrinth consists of a single meandering pathway that leads from the entrance to the center and back out again. In the Christian tradition, it is a place where one can experience a spiritual walk with our creator. It provides a time for private meditation, a time to pray and talk to God.Two-story house with balconies on both storiesGothic two-story homeQueen Anne style with turret and wraparound verandaYellow broomEarly January 9, 1965 a huge landslide occurred and destroyed about three kilometers of the Hope-Princeton Highway. The slide, consisting of more than 46 million cubic meters of earth, rock and snow, crashed down in seconds from the 2,000-meter-high mountain ridge.Princeton Town HallHedley – From the heart of this mountain, men took $47,000,000 in gold. In 1904 Hedley boomed with the opening of the mill in town and the Nickel Plate Mine on the mountaintop. The nearby Hedley Mascot Mine, on a claim of less than an acre, mined a fortune. In 1955 the gold, silver and copper ore were exhausted.Hedley Trading PostKeremeos – villageKeremeos – mountainKeremeos – mountainDriving on the highway from Hedley to Hope, British Columbia
Penticton is a city in the Okanagan Valley of the Southern Interior of British Columbia situated between Okanagan and Skaha Lakes.
In 1866, Tom Ellis, the first European settler in Penticton, built his ranch house. Tom and his wife Wilhemina raised their family, planted Penticton’s first fruit trees and established his 30,000-acre cattle ranch. The Penticton Hotel was established in 1892 by Ellis, who positioned it around the local government area, and its first road: Front Street. The sidewalks on the street were made from wood, with coal oil lamps being introduced to the sidewalk.
Four Shatford brothers moved to the Okanagan from Nova Scotia and were influential in the area. W.T. Shatford bought out the Ellis Estate and formed the South Okanagan Land Company in 1905; he became rich. Lytton became a senator when Robert Borden was Prime Minister and the Senator Shatford School was named after him. Large dams were built on the upper reaches of the Ellis and Turnbull Creeks creating a gravity-fed irrigation system needed to develop the area into the “Garden of Eden.â€
Horses were instrumental in opening up the interior by carrying goods over the Brigade Trail. Stagecoaches and wagons followed with railways and boats came into use after that. Herds of wild horses roam freely in the hills.
558 Ellis Street – P.D. McDonald House – 1912 – rusticated concrete block house – cross-gabled with exposed beams, symmetrical, four square porch posts with Ionic detailing, broken pediments, paired double-hung windows, central entry, wide overhanging eaves, Dutch style chimney pots570 Martin Street – 1911 – shingle style with a cross-gable form, flared eaves and a prominent pedimented gable; the full front porch has square shingled porch posts; the windows are double hung; the continuous wall covering is of square cut shingles1201 Fairview Road – Art Moderne style – 1940 – flat roof, rounded corners, groupings of windows, smooth stucco surface, coping at the roof line984 Fairview Road – 1922 – 1½ story saddle-notched log house – The Beatons bought it within five years of construction and lived in it for seventy-five years. Bertie Beaton was a member of a pioneer family who arrived in 1906 and ran the Penticton Hotel; her husband worked for the Kettle Valley Railway. It has a deep front porch, wide steps, low-pitched side-gabled roof, rooftop shed dormer, and the fireplace was constructed with cobbles from Shatford Creek.494 Young Street – 1913 – Keyes House – 1½ story Late Victorian cottage with steeply pitched paired gables and a shingled gable truss – The use of a variety of surface materials including shingle and lap siding is typical of Queen Anne Revival architecture. Robert Grey Keyes was a member of City Council.230 Orchard Avenue – 1938 – The Tupper Residence – Art Moderne – smooth stucco finish, curved corners and horizontal bands, flat roofs, curved concrete steps, wraparound multi-paned windows, recessed entrance158 Eckhardt Avenue East – Penticton High School – 1913 – Neo-Georgian style, three brick bays, raised basement, Romanesque central entrance arch with arched windows above, hipped roof, deeply articulated dentil courses, roof-top cupola696 Main Street – Penticton United Church – 1929 – Gothic Revival stone and stucco – square tower, stained glass windows, arched windows and doorways100 Main Street – Penticton Court House – 1949 – Art Deco-Moderne style196 Penticton Avenue – Sutcliffe Residence – 1912 – Queen Anne Revival style220 Manor Park Avenue – Leir House – 1929 – vernacular architecture, stone cladding, dominant entrance porch and stairs – thirteen bedrooms to accommodate the eleven Leir childrenThe S.S. Sicamous, a steel-hulled stern wheeler, rests on the southern shores of Okanagan Lake in downtown Penticton. It is 200 feet long and was quite luxurious. From 1914 to 1936 she made daily runs between Penticton and Okanagan Landing at the north end of the lake carrying up to 250 passengers plus mail and freight.
The Kelowna town site was laid out in 1892, and by 1898 the community growing on the shores of Okanagan Lake began to show that it would become a permanent settlement. As people came so did the traveling missionaries and students of both the Presbyterian and Methodist churches. Kelowna is the largest community in the Okanagan Valley.
The Okanagan Sunflower is the official floral emblem of Kelowna. It is one of the longest blooming wildflowers, providing abundant splashes of bright yellow on the hillsides in early spring. The plant is drought tolerant; it’s completely edible and was used by the First Nations peoples as a food source. Its large yellow flowers reflect the sunny Okanagan skies and the hot summer climate.
The service industry employs the most people in Kelowna. In summer, boating, swimming, water skiing, windsurfing, fishing, golfing, hiking and biking are popular. In winter both Alpine and Nordic skiing are favorite activities at the nearby ski resorts. Kelowna produces wines that have received international recognition. Vineyards are found around and south of the city where the climate is ideal for the many wineries. Kelowna is the home of Sun-Rype, a popular manufacturer of fruit bars and juices.
Many prominent people played a part in Kelowna becoming the city it is today and many of them made their homes on Marshall Street. The W.J. Marshall family was one of the very early families to settle here and their home is at 1869. R.B. Staples owned the Beaverdell Silver Mine and was also prominent in the fruit industry; their home is at 1812.
781 Bernard Avenue – The David Leckie (successful businessman and civic leader) House was built in 1906 in the late Queen Anne style. A tall gable on the right is balanced by a dormer on the left. There is narrow horizontal wood siding and a semi-circular porch with a balustrade above.806 Bernard Avenue – Jessie Willard Hughes House – 1933 – Colonial Revival style – J.W. Hughes planted the first commercial vineyards in 1926 and he exported gladioli and peony bulbs.830 Bernard Avenue – James W. Jones (Mayor, Conservative MLA) – 1912 – Queen Anne style, hipped roof with dormer, classic foursquare, wraparound pillared veranda, narrow horizontal wood siding865 Bernard Avenue – James Bacon Knowles (jeweler and watch maker) house built in 1907 – hipped roof, wood frame construction with double-beveled wooden siding, wooden trim and details.870 Bernard Avenue – William Hughes-Games house – 1936 – is a Vernacular Cottage with a cross-gabled roof. There is an arched opening to a recessed entry.757 Lawrence Avenue – George Arthur Meikel House – 1910 – Dutch Colonial style – gambrel roof831 Lawrence Avenue – Howard E. Atchison House – 1931 – Tudor Revival style with half-timber detailing on stucco, gable roof truncated at the peak857 Lawrence Avenue – Dougald McDougall (civil engineer in fruit industry) House – 1922 – California Craftsman Bungalow – gable roof with deep eaves and exposed rafters, deep porch868 Lawrence Avenue – William Harold Hunter McDougall (fruit grower and exporter) House – 1909 – Vernacular Cottage style966 Lawrence Avenue – Munson House – 1911 – Victorian Foursquare with hipped roof, gabled dormer and covered porch – Robert Munson was a sawmill worker.987 Lawrence Avenue – Renwick House – 1912 – Queen Anne style – altered from the original – turret, bay window, dormers1001 Lawrence Avenue – Second Knowles House – 1913 – J. B. Knowles was a jeweler and civic leader. Dutch Colonial Revival style – gambrel roof228 Lake Avenue – This house was the home of Harold Pettman and his family. Harold and his brother Charles ran Pettman Brothers Grocery until 1966 when Harold became Manager of the Okanagan Federated Shippers. This 1½ story wood frame house was built in 1941 during the wartime. It is in Cape Code style. It has a cross-gabled roof, and a concrete foundation. There is horizontal siding on the first story and vertical siding with polygonal ends on the upper half-story. A small gabled roof supported with brackets covers the front entrance.1922 Abbott Street – John Francis Fumerton and Annie Maria brought their family to Kelowna in 1916 where he established a men’s clothing, dry goods and shoe store. This 1½ story wood frame house was built in 1933 on the corner of Abbott and Vimy. With its picturesque roof line and casement windows, this Storybook cottage is a romantic representation of traditional domestic ideals. It has a steeply-pitched cross-gabled roof with gabled projections, its original glazed front door and semi-circular concrete front entrance steps.1858 Abbott Street – 1937 – Moderne style – streamlined, flat parapet roof, stucco and horizontal banding and cladding, multi-sash windows with narrow trim, curved walls, asymmetrical facade, canopy over entrance
