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A small, white, red-roofed replica of Father Pandosy’s second church stands in a cornfield just west of the restored Mission. It marks Father Pandosy’s gravesite. As the Mission site and the fence surrounding the original graveyard deteriorated, the location of the priest’s grave became a mystery. It was not until 1983, during an archaeological dig in the area, that James Baker, a professor at Okanagan College, discovered Father Pandosy’s grave. Two other priests had been buried alongside him. The grave was on land owned by the pioneer Rampone family. Two years later, the family built a replica of Father Pandosy’s sawn wood church and transferred the gravesite and half an acre of land to the Bishop of Nelson. It is visible from the surrounding roads. | Stuart Kernaghan, xyphotos.ca
Father Pandosy’s first building was a log chapel with living quarters above. The larger building beside it was a root cellar with walls of parallel logs built four inches apart and packed with earth to insulate the fruits and vegetables stored for the winter. | Kelowna Public Archives 7075
Guisachan House has undergone several renovations and restorations in the intervening years, and is currently a restaurant. The two and a half acres of Edwardian gardens surrounding the building were first planted by Elaine Cameron, who, with her husband Paddy, purchased the property from the Aberdeens. Mrs. Cameron kept meticulous journals and photographs of her plantings, which were used to reconstruct the garden. The main entrance to the house was originally through the avenue of cedars to the north. It has been said that on a clear moonlit night, the clip-clop of the horse carriages that long ago visited the house can still be heard. The square-cut log house on the property originally belonged to John McDougall, and was built in 1886; it was moved onto the site in the 1980s. The Guisachan buildings and garden are off Cameron Avenue. | Stuart Kernaghan, xyphotos.ca
The Kelowna hospital with its first addition, the maternity wing. Prior to the addition of the new building, expectant mothers were asked to have their babies at home as they were taking up too many of the hospital’s beds. | Kelowna Public Archives 2211
The Royal Anne Hotel evolved from the early Palace Hotel on the north side of Bernard Avenue. This building was destroyed by fire in 1971. A modern version of the hotel remains part of downtown Kelowna today. | Kelowna Public Archives 5809
Kelowna Memorial Arena was opened in 1948 in memory of those who served in World War II. It was the first building to be constructed on the new civic centre site (above photo). The arena soon became the home of the Kelowna Packers hockey team, welcomed Canadian Olympic ice dancer Barbara Ann Scott and then, for a number of years, hosted every major event in town. In addition to the ice surface, which continues to be used for much of the year for minor and college hockey, the Okanagan Military Museum has now taken over the lobby and some of the upstairs space for military displays and a library. The distinctive mural portrays all three branches of Canada’s armed forces (previous page photo). The mural and the museum are on Ellis Street. | Kelowna Public Archives 2527 / Stuart Kernaghan, xyphotos.ca
Kelowna Post Office. Kelowna’s art deco post office was built on Bernard Avenue during the 1930s. It was demolished forty years later before the city recognized its heritage value. | Kelowna Public Archives 3448
Kelowna’s Waterfront Park officially opened in 1995. | H. Brust Collection Q9024
The shell of the dining room of the Lake Okanagan Resort is all that remains after the McDougall Creek Fire. | Sharron Simpson Collection

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The Kelowna Story

An Okanagan History

Second Edition

Sharron J. Simpson

The new edition of this excellent illustrated history includes additional information about recent developments up to 2025.

The Kelowna Story is a comprehensive full-length history of the largest metropolitan centre outside BC’s Lower Mainland, a labour of love by a leading local historian whose family roots have been entwined with Kelowna’s for five generations. It embraces the full sweep of central Okanagan history, starting with the days of the S-Ookanhkchinx, who enjoyed a largely peaceful existence along the shores of the lakes and rivers before the earliest explorers came to trade, followed by Father Pandosy and his Okanagan Mission in 1859. It was the mission that attracted Kelowna’s first homesteaders, soon followed by cattle ranchers and orchardists, and much later by the empire-builders like the Bennett family who paved the way for today’s budding metropolis.

Author Sharron J. Simpson believes “history is best told through the stories of ordinary people,” while allowing today’s readers may not think it ‘ordinary’ to walk over mountain ranges to collect mail, or consider it ‘ordinary’ to climb into a narrow irrigation pipe to scrape the rust off the inside as it runs up and down the hillsides, or to row freight from one end of Okanagan Lake to the other. “In their time,” she writes, “those who did extraordinary things were simply doing what needed to be done to get ahead. Their stories are fascinating and tell of the remarkable investment early settlers made in this community.”

Simpson tells the story of her hometown with an attention to detail and a passion for narrative that bespeaks her own considerable talent and deep commitment.

The Kelowna Story is available in paperback from your favourite bookstore or directly from Harbour Publishing.

ISBN 13: 9781998526208
8.375 × 10.5 – 332 pp
CAD$38.95 • USD$36.95

An ebook edition is also available from Amazon, Kobo, Apple iBooks and other ebook retailers.

A wooden building stands in a field, some of its planks fallen off. Behind the building is a light-coloured church with a cross on top of its roof. In the background are hills and trees.

Introduction: Kelowna’s Stories

Kelowna has changed profoundly over the past few years. People arrive from far-off places knowing they want to live here. Others choose to live here though they work elsewhere. The population has...

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