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A Pictorial History of Kelowna BC
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| The Oblate Missionaries Father Pandosy, Father Richard
and Brother Surel, arrived in the Okanagan in October 1859. The site they
chose for a Mission was known as L'Anse au Sable. With the building of
the Mission, the name Okanagan Mission came into use to describe the whole
area for miles around. It was not until 1892 that the town site of Kelowna
was laid out. On completion of the drafted plans of the town site the all
important matter of a name had to be considered. A number of settlers recalled
an incident involving one August Gillard who had pre-empted property here
thirty years earlier. |
KELOWNA
Indian Word for Grizzly Bear |
August Gillard had made snug winter quarters in a
sort of underground soddy, similar to the Indian Kekuli or Kickwillie.
A group of passing Indians seeing smoke issuing from the dwelling stopped
to see who lived there. Hearing the chattering going on outside
Gillard, all fur and whiskers, emerged, whereupon the Indians delightedly
shouted "Kim-ach-Touch, Kim-ach-Touch" or "Brown Bear, Brown Bear". This
Indian name struck the town planners as a possible name, but a bit of a
mouthful for the average white tongue to contend with. After some discussion
it was thought that "Kelowna" the Indian name for Grizzly Bear would suit.
So Kelowna it was, and the new town site was duly registered under
that name in 1892.
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Okanagan Indians at the turn of the century. |
| The Valley's first people were the Indian people who had migrated down from
the north. First they occupied the ridges then the Valley floor as ice
gradually retreated. They were hunters and gatherers of food and devised
shelter and clothing to suit their life style. Deer, fish, roots and berries
were food sources, the tanned hides of the deer providing much of the clothing.
Their life style changed radically with the beginning of white settlement. |
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FURS TAKEN IN THE OKANAGAN
In 1811 David Stuart of the Pacific Fur Company traveled
the Okanagan. He is the first recorded white man to see the Valley.
He established a route, later to be known as the Brigade Trail through
the Valley to Kamloops. Over this trail passed large trains of men
and horses, bringing goods in and furs out. |
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Originally Published by Kelowna Centennial Museum
Art: Gwen Lamont - Research, Compiling and Editing: Ursula Surtees
Compiling & Editing for the Internet by Marty van Mulder
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