The human history of the Thompson Okanagan goes back thousands of years with the region's First Nations. View 2,000-year-old archaeological remains at the Secwepemc Museum and Heritage Park.
The Cariboo Gold Rush brought a rush of settlers and passers-through to the region in the late 1850s and 1860s. Boomtowns and roadhouses sprung up seemingly overnight to service those en route to the gold fields. Experience life in a gold-rush-era roadhouse at Historic Hat Creek Ranch, and visit a period cattle ranch at Historic O'Keefe Ranch near Vernon. Go back in time on the Kamloops Heritage Railway or the Kettle Valley Steam Railway in Summerland.
See where the Okanagan's orchards began at the Father Pandosy mission in Kelowna, and view BC's last remaining pioneer flour mill with its original machinery intact at the Grist Mill in Keremeos. Tour The S.S. Sicamous, the largest remaining steel-hulled sternwheeler in Canada, and compare a broad range of historic buildings from across the region at the R.J. Haney Heritage Village & Museum in Salmon Arm.
Many Visitor Centres have self-guided tour brochures that highlight local historic sites.
Historic Aboriginal Sites
Learn about the semi-nomadic culture of the Secwepemc (Shuswap) people at the Secwepemc Museum and Heritage Park in Kamloops. The on-site museum is complemented by a 5ha/12ac heritage park with outdoor displays depicting the Secwepemc way of life. See the archaeological remains of a 2,000-year-old winter village site, and explore reconstructed winter pit houses (called kekulis) and a summer village.
Historic Railways
Ever wondered what it feels like to live through a train robbery? Find out on board the Spirit of Kamloops, as the famous Bill Miner 1906 train robbery in realistically re-enacted.
Stop at Midway to see the authentically restored CPR station. Midway was known as "Mile Zero" of the Kettle Valley Railway.
Travel in style along the only preserved section of the KVR aboard the Kettle Valley Steam Railway. A restored 1912 steam locomotive takes passengers through 16 km/10 mi of stunning Okanagan scenery. A highlight is the Trout Creek trestle bridge 73 m/238 ft above the canyon floor.
The building of the Kettle Valley Railway through Myra Canyon posed some enormous engineering challenges. The difficult terrain made it necessary to construct a series of trestles and tunnels. In 2003, a major forest fire destroyed a dozen of the historic trestles, all of which have since been reconstructed. For a first hand look, travel by foot or by bicycle along the Kettle Valley Rail Trail.
Ranches and Roadhouses
Take a stagecoach ride along the infamous Cariboo Wagon Road at Historic Hat Creek Ranch, located at the junction of Highway 97 and Highway 99. Tour the 1860s roadhouse guided by an interpreter in period costume, and check out the beautifully restored BX barn, one of the many original buildings on the site. The barn was once used to stable the mighty draft-horse teams that were changed at the roadhouse.
In its heyday, Historic O'Keefe Ranch was one of the largest cattle ranches in BC, with a general store, blacksmith shop, its own church, and the Okanagan's first post office. Today visitors can inspect antique farm equipment and tour the O'Keefe family mansion. Kids will love the rare-breed farm animal collection.
Historic Buildings and Structures
Father Pandosy was an Oblate missionary who founded the region's first Roman Catholic mission in 1860. He is also credited with planting the Okanagan's first apple orchard. The original mission, along with a handful of other original buildings, has been restored.
A water wheel and flume power the Victorian-era machinery at Keremeos's Grist Mill, which grinds whole-wheat flour. Outside are heirloom apple orchards and, in growing season, plots of heirloom wheat.
R.J. Haney Heritage Village & Museum, once a pioneer farm, is now a collection of fascinating historic buildings. Most are originals, built as early as the 1890s and moved to the site; others are replicas constructed in recent years. R.J. Haney House, a fully restored 1910 farmhouse, stands in its original location.
The S.S. Sicamous was built in 1914 to accommodate passengers in luxurious style, while also moving large amounts of cargo and providing a daily mail service along Okanagan Lake. Make discoveries on each of three decks, from the engine room and crew's quarters to the Men's Smoking Salon and the Ladies' Observation Lounge. The vessel is permanently docked in Penticton.
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