History of Lake Country BC
The District of Lake Country has been inhabited for 7000 to 8000 years but only recently, in 1995, became an incorporated community.
Formerly, the four separate communities, Carr's Landing, Okanagan Centre, Oyama and Winfield were part of the Regional District. At the time of
incorporation, each community was about 90 years old and each had its own distinctive personality and heritage.
The Interior Salish people were the first to live here. They were hunter/gatherers and left no written history. Caucasion people first passed through the valley in the middle of the nineteenth century, hauling furs traded for in the north and shipped out from ports established on the Pacific.
Next came the missionaries. The Oblates established their first mission around Duck Lake and then moved to a more permanent residence on Mission Creek in south east Kelowna.
The discovery of gold brought men who prospected the creeks and although they did find some gold here, it was never a bonanza. However, other men noted the rich grasslands and brought cattle in to feed the miners in the Kootenays and further north. This was the start of the big ranches.
By the beginning of the 20th century, new pioneers built wooden irrigation systems by hand and made fruit growing on a commercial scale possible. Orchards gradually replaced the ranches and packing houses and other businesses arising out of the fruit industry sprang up.
By 1908, the C.P.R. had built a line to Vernon and steam driven paddle wheelers were hauling passengers and freight to the railhead.
Gradually roads in the Okanagan were improved and cars and trucks became more numerous. The paddle wheelers were no longer economically viable and were discontinued. The wonderful climate of the Okanagan and Lake Country attracted more new residents and some of the orchards gave way to houses - but not all. The residents of Lake Country still enjoy a semi-rural environment with lots of orchards and vineyards and all of the benefits of a smaller community.
To discover the details of Lake Country History, please proceed to the maps by clicking on the red dots in the timeline at the top of this page. Each dot represents a five year period. Clicking on any dot brings up a map with historical events, text and often pictures. At the bottom of each map there is a title for each event. Click on either the title or the location to bring up the description. If you are interested in a particular event but don't know the date, click on History Index.
If you are interested in greater detail than this web site provides, please contact us by viewing the Visitor Info page or the Contact Us page. The museum holds manuscripts, books, files and objects that are of interest to the serious scholar as well as residents and visitors who want to know more.
