Glenrosa.

How Glenrosa took shape

Glenrosa is a hillside community west of Westbank that began as a subdivision in the early 1900s. Its first name, Glencoe, was rejected by postal authorities, so it became Glenrosa, with a post office from 1912. Most homes date from the 1970s and 1980s, and wildfires reached the area in 2009 and 2021.

Glenrosa rises up the slopes west of Westbank toward the Powers Creek canyon, on syilx land. Two early accounts explain its start. The provincial names office credits brothers Curtis and Louis David Hitchner, who came from Kansas around 1907 and worked in real estate, logging and a sawmill. They first called their subdivision Glencoe, but postal authorities objected because the name was already in use, so it became Glenrosa. A 2015 news report on the city's heritage work instead credits photographer Archibald Murchie with naming the new area in 1905. Either way, the Glenrosa post office opened on January 1, 1912. Life on the hill was hard. The Glenrosa Cemetery, used from 1911, holds at least 13 burials, 10 of them children, several believed to have died in the Spanish flu. Murchie was buried there in 1930. The city added the cemetery to its heritage register in 2015 and began assessing the Hitchner sawmill site.

The Westbank Museum has since urged protection for the old Glenrosa schoolhouse. Most houses came much later. Lower and Upper Glenrosa filled in during the 1970s and 1980s, giving the area its split levels and basement entry homes on generous lots. Water comes from the Powers Creek system. Fire shapes recent memory. On July 18, 2009, the Glenrosa fire grew to about 400 hectares, thousands were evacuated across West Kelowna and three homes were lost. In August 2021 the Mount Law fire brought more evacuations and damaged a small number of structures. Growth continues. In May 2024 council rezoned about 30 acres in upper Glenrosa for 92 detached homes and 26 multifamily units.

1. 1907Hitchner brothers arrive from Kansas around this year and lay out their subdivision. Source
2. 1912Glenrosa post office opens on January 1. Source

The homes & their setting

Mostly 1970s and 1980s family homes on larger lots, many split levels and basement entry homes, with some newer infill. New detached and multifamily homes are approved in upper Glenrosa. Mostly freehold.

Building age, tenure, amenities and permitted uses vary by address. Explore the actual property documents with Elaine and the appropriate specialists.

Places with a story

• Glenrosa Cemetery — Pioneer cemetery used from 1911, mostly for children; added to the city heritage register in 2015. History source
• Hitchner Saw Mill site — Linked to the brothers who named Glenrosa; the city began assessing it for heritage value in 2015. History source
• Glenrosa Schoolhouse — Historic schoolhouse the Westbank Museum has asked the city to protect. History source