August Gillard pre-empted land on the shores of Okanagan Lake when there were very few settlers or permanent buildings. He adapted the Native's winter house style to his own needs, and was one of the first people to build on what is now the site of the City of Kelowna.
PRE-EMPTION REGULATIONS
Any person being the head of a family, a widow,
or a single man over the age of eighteen and being a British subject, may,
for agricultural purposes, record any tract of unoccupied and unreserved
Crown lands, not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres in extent. No person
can hold more than one pre-emption claim. The pre-emption had to be staked
by the claimer. The claimer had to have personal residence on the
land within sixty days after registration. Land may be considered abandoned
if unoccupied for more than two months consecutively. The settler shall
have the land surveyed within five years from the date of record.
After living on the land for two years and improving the value of the land
by two dollars and fifty cents an acre the land could be purchased from
the government. Cost of the land purchase was one dollar per acre. The
payment for this land could be spread over four years From B.C. Settlers
Guide 1885
