Historical Ranches in BC: O`Keefe
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Historical Ranches in BC: O`Keefe
Historical
Ranches in BC: O’Keefe Ranch
Up Next in our Historical Ranch Series is the O’Keefe Ranch in the
Okanagan Valley. This Ranch is now run by a non-profit society and no longer as
a working ranch, which makes for a different experience. However, the history
behind it is still just a rich. Like the Alkali Lake Ranch, it dates back to
the mid 1800’s.
The O’Keefe Ranch was founded in 1867 and represents the very beginnings
of European settlement in the Okanagan Valley. In those days, the Cariboo
Gold Rush was at its peak and the miners’ demand for food inspired enterprising
young men to buy beef cattle far to the south in Oregon and drive them north to
the goldfields. During the period 1858 to 1868 over 22,000 head of cattle
crossed the border near present-day Osooyos and traveled up the former fur
trade Brigade Trail through the Okanagan Valley, past Fort Kamloops and on to
the Cariboo. These cattle formed the nucleus of herds that grew to become
the British Columbia cattle industry.
On the O’Keefe Ranch
website you can read the full story of the ranch’s history including how the
ranch supplied food for the miners during the Cariboo Gold Rush and details on
how the ranch grew with Cornelius O’Keefe purchasing land for as little as $1
per acre.
You can also explore
online exhibits showing life as it was in the days that the ranch was in
operation, find out more information about the key people working and living at
the property and plan your visit for a real life tour of the historic site. Go
to www.okeeferanch.ca to read more.
If you find yourself passing through Vernon during this time, stop in and experience the O’Keefe Ranch historic site! Learn what ranching was like in the 1800’s, what the history of ranching in BC was like more than a hundred years ago. Truly the start of cattle ranching in BC!
source:https://okeeferanch.ca/ranch-history/story
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