Chapter 01 · Explore
Lake Country history and interesting facts
Ranches, orchards, sternwheelers and a canal between two lakes. How four small communities grew into one of BC’s fastest-growing districts.
Long before the orchards, the land around the three lakes was, and remains, part of the unceded territory of the Syilx (Okanagan) people, used for hunting, fishing and gathering (Lake Country Museum).
A short timeline
- 1871
- Rancher Thomas Wood settles. The settlement then called Alvaston is later renamed Winfield after his home, Winfield Lodge (Wikipedia).
- 1892
- The Maddock brothers begin developing land from what became Rainbow Ranche to McKinley’s Landing (Lake Country Museum).
- 1893
- Rainbow Ranche is founded by the Barr brothers (Lake Country Museum).
- 1906
- The area’s first orchard is planted at Rainbow Ranche, eventually about 125 acres, mostly apples. Oyama gets its name the same year, from postmaster Dr. W.H. Irvine, after the Japanese Field Marshal Ōyama Iwao (Wikipedia).
- 1908
- An irrigation line from Beaver Lake to Okanagan Centre is nearly finished, the Okanagan Valley Land Company is formed, and a canal is dug across the Oyama isthmus between Wood and Kalamalka lakes (Lake Country Calendar).
- Steamer days
- CPR sternwheelers stop daily at the Okanagan Centre wharf (Wikipedia).
- 1949
- Rainbow Ranche is subdivided.
- 1972
- Gray Monk’s founders plant their first vines (Tourism Kelowna).
- May 2, 1995
- Winfield, Okanagan Centre, Oyama and Carr’s Landing incorporate as the District of Lake Country (District).
- 2018
- The Okanagan Rail Trail opens on September 27.
- 2021
- École H.S. Grenda Middle School opens.
- 2023
- The Clarke Creek wildfire destroys three Lake Country homes in August.
- 2026
- Council adopts a new Official Community Plan on July 23, planning for growth to 2046.
Interesting facts
- Four wards. Each historic community still elects its own councillor; the District says it’s the only BC municipality using a ward system (District).
- Fast growth. Population grew 22% between 2016 and 2021, to 15,817, and 75% since 1996. The District’s 2022 estimate was 17,370, and the region projects about 32,566 people by 2046 (Municipal Profile; Kelowna Capital News).
- Farm country. Nearly half the land is in the Agricultural Land Reserve, growing cherries, grapes, apples, pears and peaches.
- Art in the orchards. The Lake Country ArtWalk held its 33rd edition in September 2026, with up to 200 artists and about 7,000 visitors (Lake Country ArtWalk).
“People think of Lake Country as new subdivisions. Look past them and you’ll find more than a century of ranching and orchard history.”
Sean Phillips, REALTOR®
Questions? Call or text
Ask about a street, a water system, or what your place is worth
Sean Phillips lives full time in the Okanagan and works the whole valley, from Vernon down through Lake Country to Kelowna. Ask him which areas are on lake water and which are on Beaver Lake or Oyama Lake water, whether a house is on sewer or septic, how much of a property is in the Agricultural Land Reserve, or what a realistic list price looks like this month. Straight answers, no pressure.
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