Historic Sites

In the 1960s, the Okanagan Historical Society took on the task of preserving the historic Pandosy Mission site on Benvoulin Road in Kelowna. It was here that Father Pandosy, an Oblate priest, established the first white settlement in the Okanagan Valley in 1859.

Many of the buildings had fallen in disrepair. Work parties from the historical society and the Knights of Columbus have laboured over the years to restore four of the original buildings, the Chapel, the Root-House, the Barn and the Brothers House. Four other historic buildings have been moved to the site.

Today, it is jointly administered by the Okanagan Historical Society and the Catholic Church. The property remains in the hands of the Catholic Church. There is a caretaker on site and the grounds are open to the public from dawn to dusk from Easter to Thanksgiving. Admission is by donation.

Fintry is a beautiful provincial park on the west shore of Okanagan Lake, half way between Kelowna and Vernon. It has a past to be proud of... a present to delight campers, bird watchers, hikers, boaters, swimmers - and, with its very special heritage buildings, history buffs!

The Keremeos Grist Mill is located in Keremeos, B.C. Barrington Price opened this water-powered mill on August 21, 1877. The mill was significant because Keremeos residents would no longer have to travel the 170 miles to Colville to get flour. Barrington Price had to give up the mill before the end of the century, because of financial difficulty. Today, the Keremeos Grist Mill has been converted to an exiting and informative historical site. The mill is visited by all members of the public and is featured as a tourist attraction.

The Kelowna Heritage Grants Program encourages the preservation of heritage buildings in Kelowna and furthers public awareness of the significance of our irreplaceable heritage resources.
The Kelowna Heritage Grants Program meets regularly to review grant applications for heritage building restorations and for initiatives that raise awareness of Kelowna’s heritage.
The City of Kelowna annual allotment has helped many heritage building owners restore and maintain their heritage buildings. The Kelowna Heritage Grants Program administered through the Central Okanagan Hertiage Society (COHS) and funded by the City of Kelowna continues this important program.

Founded in 1867, O'Keefe Ranch was once one of the largest cattle ranches in British Columbia, spanning over 20,000 acres of prime Okanagan land. From their humble beginnings, the O'Keefe family built up a small settlement consisting of a general store - with the first post office in the Okanagan Valley, a blacksmith shop, St. Anne's Church built in 1889 (and still a popular wedding location) plus many other necessary ranch buildings.

Welcome to the Website of the Okanagan Historical Society , one of the oldest societies in British Columbia dedicated to the preservation of local history. Incorporated in 1925, the society has published a book each year save during the Great Depression and World War II. The first volume was a mere thirty pages; the present volume is two hundred and fifty pages. These seventy volumes represent the main work of the society. You become a member of the society by purchasing the most recent annual publication.

In 1988 the S.S. Sicamous Restoration Society was formed as a non-profit Restoration Society with the mandate to restore the S.S. Sicamous for the City of Penticton. In the last 10 years the Society has taken this 1914 - 1937 CPR Sternwheeler from a virtual derelict to becoming very close to a completed Living Museum showing the importance of the S.S. Sicamous to the development of the transportation and economic growth of the Okanagan Valley on the first 35 years of this century.