O'Keefe Ranch facts for kids

The O'Keefe Ranch is a special historic place in British Columbia, Canada. It's located in the beautiful Okanagan region, just northwest of Vernon. This ranch was started way back in 1867 by a man named Cornelius O'Keefe. Today, it's a popular spot where you can learn about what life was like in the early days of British Columbia.

Cornelius O'Keefe: The Ranch Founder

Cornelius O'Keefe was born on July 26, 1838, in a place called Fallowfield, Ontario. His father was an Irish immigrant, and his mother was French Canadian. Cornelius grew up on a farm with his many brothers and sisters.

In 1862, Cornelius heard about gold being found in British Columbia. He decided to travel west, hoping to find his fortune. He didn't have much luck with gold mining in the Cariboo. So, he started working on building the Cariboo Road, a very important road in those days. He also helped build a stopping place called 115 Mile House.

In 1866, O'Keefe met Thomas Wood near Kamloops. Wood had a herd of cattle. The two men became partners. They bought more cattle in Oregon and returned to the Okanagan Valley with another partner, Thomas Greenhow. In June 1867, they arrived at the top of Okanagan Lake. Each man claimed 160 acres of land to start their ranches.

By 1871, Wood had moved his ranch. O'Keefe and Greenhow stayed partners. They opened a small general store to serve the local people and settlers. In 1872, this store became the first post office in the valley. O'Keefe worked as the postmaster until 1912. Because it was at the end of the wagon road, the post office also became a stop for the British Columbia Stage Line.

The 1870s were a bit slow for cattle ranchers. O'Keefe and Greenhow focused on growing their herds. They used money from their store, post office, and a new grist mill (which grinds grain) to buy more land. By 1876, O'Keefe owned 960 acres of good land with easy access to water.

In 1877, O'Keefe went back to Ontario and married Mary Ann McKenna. They had nine children over the next 16 years. During this time, O'Keefe's ranch became much more successful. The building of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in the early 1880s created a big demand for beef and other goods. After the CPR was finished, ranchers like O'Keefe could sell their livestock to new markets.

By the mid-1890s, the O'Keefe Ranch had grown to about 12,000 acres. They raised cattle and sheep and grew a lot of wheat. However, growing fruit became very popular in the Okanagan Valley. This put pressure on large cattle ranchers to sell their land for new settlements. Also, the beef market slowed down, and pastures became overgrazed. This led to the end of very large-scale ranching in the Okanagan. O'Keefe was one of the last to sell. He sold most of his remaining land in 1907.

Mary Ann O'Keefe passed away in 1899. In 1900, Cornelius married Elizabeth Theresa Tierney. They had six more children. After 1907, O'Keefe invested in land in Vernon and built theaters. He was also a justice of the peace and involved in several agricultural and community groups. He lived in his ranch house until he passed away. The ranch stayed in his family until 1977. Today, it is preserved as an important historic site.

O'Keefe Ranch Historic Site

The O'Keefe Ranch is now a historic site located 12 kilometers north of Vernon. It was first opened to the public by Cornelius and Elizabeth O'Keefe's youngest son, Tierney, and his wife Betty. They ran it as a family business for 10 years. Later, it was sold to a charitable group, who then sold it to the City of Vernon for just $1. The city agreed to operate it as a historic site forever.

Today, the O'Keefe Ranch is run by a non-profit group called the O'Keefe Ranch and Interior Heritage Society. It is open to the public every year from about May to October. They offer many public programs and events. Thousands of elementary school children visit the ranch each year for educational programs. They get to tour the O'Keefe Mansion, the Balmoral Schoolhouse, and the general store.

The O'Keefe Ranch has about 10,000 old items, called artifacts. About 2,500 of these items originally belonged to the O'Keefe family. The family's old documents, books, and photos are kept in a museum and archives on site. You can view them there. Some of these old materials have also been put online for everyone to see.

Historic Buildings

The O'Keefe Ranch has several original buildings from the 1800s. Many of them are open for visitors to explore from May to October. They are decorated to look just like they would have in the 19th century.

St. Anne's Church

St. Anne's Church was built in 1889. It was one of the first churches in the North Okanagan and was a Roman Catholic church. Today, you can visit the church during the ranch's open season. It still has its original pews, a pump organ, and old priest's clothes. The church is also a popular place for weddings.

Blacksmith Shop

The ranch has a blacksmith shop, but it's not the original one. Cornelius O'Keefe's first blacksmith shop was across the highway. The current building was rebuilt in the 1960s using old materials. It holds the family's original Peter Wright anvil and other old tools.

General Store

The first general store opened in 1870 and was used until 1919. The building you see today is a copy of the original store. It was built in the 1960s with old materials. Inside, you can see many 19th-century items. These include Cornelius O'Keefe's original safe and postal scales.

Log House

This is Cornelius and Mary Ann O'Keefe's original log house, built around 1876. Visitors can tour the house and see the living room, kitchen, and upstairs bedroom. In 1882, the Governor General of Canada, the Marquis of Lorne, visited the Okanagan for a hunting trip. He stayed in this very log home.

Chinese Cooks House

This small house was built around 1890. It was where the family's Chinese cooks lived and worked on the ranch.

O'Keefe Mansion

The O'Keefe Mansion was built in stages, starting in 1886 and finishing by 1896. It is the only building on the ranch where you can take a guided tour. Inside, you'll find many original 19th-century furniture pieces bought by the O'Keefe family. There's also a music box, a baby grand piano, and a beautiful 115-piece set of fine porcelain dishes.

Greenhow Museum

The Greenhow Museum is in a house built in 1941. It stands on the original foundation of the Greenhow Mansion, which burned down in 1939. Today, the Greenhow Museum has different exhibits that change each year. It's open from May to October. The museum also keeps the ranch's archives, which hold thousands of original documents, books, and photos.

Cowboy Bunkhouse

The cowboy bunkhouse was built in the 1940s. It is decorated with old cowboy gear and beds that look like the ones cowboys would have used.

Balmoral Schoolhouse

The Balmoral Schoolhouse was not originally on the ranch. It was built in 1912 in another part of British Columbia. It was moved to the ranch in the 1990s. Now, it looks like a Victorian-era classroom. In the entrance, you can see old school items from the early 1900s.

Schubert House

The Schubert House also was not originally on the ranch. It was built in 1892 by Augustus Schubert II. His parents were part of the Overlanders of 1862, a group who traveled across Canada to British Columbia. The Schubert House was moved to O'Keefe Ranch in 1989. Visitors can see it during the open season. It contains many original items from the Schubert family from the 1800s and early 1900s.