I took my grand daughter and her friend to see O'Keefe ranch decorated for Christmas. We enjoyed the decorations, the wagon ride and the carol singing in the mansion and in the church.
Ranch History
The Ranch was founded in 1867, and in its earliest days was at the end
of the wagon road into the Okanagan Valley and the site of the stage
coach depot. It was a small, self-contained community, with a Post
Office, blacksmith shop, grist mill, and even its own church and
cemetery. Many of the original buildings still exist, and are a delight
to explore.
The Historic O’Keefe Ranch is as old as Canada. It was founded in
1867 by Cornelius O’Keefe, who was born near Ottawa in 1838, of Irish
immigrant parents.
Cornelius came west in his early 20’s and began to drive cattle from
Oregon to provide food for the gold miners in the north. He camped on
the site of the Ranch, and decided to raise cattle rather than drive
them from Oregon. Cornelius pre-empted 161 acres of land. By the early
1900’s, with Thomas Greenhow, a business partner, the ranch had grown to
15,000 acres. As well as cattle, the ranch produced large quantities
of grain.
In 1907, 12,000 acres were sold to a group of Belgians wishing to
bring settlers to the area. Cornelius O’Keefe died in 1919, and his
second wife, Elizabeth in1929. The ranch continued to be operated by
his youngest son Tierney and his wife Betty until 1967, at which time
they decided, as the ranch was as old as Canada, to preserve it as part
of Canadian history. they restored and rebuilt the original ranch
buildings and opened the Historic O'Keefe Ranch in 1967, exactly 100
years after Cornelius O'Keefe had arrived on the site.
 |
| The Mansion |
 |
| Formal parlour |
 |
| chandelier in parlour, hand blown glass from Venice |
 |
| tree in parlour |
 |
| chandelier in dining room |
 |
| dining room, with hand painted china |
 |
| children's room |
 |
| Men's parlour |
 |
| men's parlour |
 |
| sewing room |
 |
| Guest room |
 |
| guest room |
 |
| children's play room |
 |
| Master bedroom |
 |
| school room for O'Keefe children |
 |
| children's room |
 |
| bathroom |
 |
| bathroom |
 |
| bathroom |
 |
| St Anne's Church |
 |
| St. Anne's church |
 |
| my grand daughter with goats |
 |
| horses for wagon ride |
 |
| General store |
 |
| Schubert House |
