History of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada

Kelowna, BC, incorporated as a city in 1905...The City of Kelowna is located in south-central British Columbia on the east shore of OKANAGAN LAKE.

The OKANAGAN VALLEY was the territory of the Okanagan of the Interior SALISH. From their villages they hunted, fished and gathered edible plants. David Stuart, a Scottish fur trader, was the first non-native to visit the area in 1811. Oblate missionaries arrived in 1859 and built a mission on the present site. They planted the first fruit trees a few years later.

By 1861 the Hudson's Bay Company had established a small trading post and a grain mill was set up in 1871. The townsite was laid out in 1892 and the name was chosen from the Okanagan word meaning "grizzly bear." At incorporation the population was 600 and shortly after there were 11 sawmills, 3 fruit-packing plants and 2 canneries. As the potential of the land became recognized, cattle ranching, hay and grain cultivation, and orchard growing spread; by 1910 Kelowna was gaining fame as "The Orchard City." Canadian National Railway main-line rail service arrived in 1925...