Southeast Kelowna.

How Southeast Kelowna took shape

Southeast Kelowna is the city's orchard bench country. It opened up after the Kelowna Land and Orchard Company bought 6,500 acres south of Mission Creek in 1904, with irrigation works from 1911 and an irrigation district from 1920. Much of it is still farmland, now on City water, with the rebuilt Myra Canyon trestles above.

The benches east of the Mission stayed dry range until irrigation made orchards possible. In 1904 T. W. Stirling, W. R. Pooley and E. M. Carruthers formed the Kelowna Land and Orchard Company, known as KLO, and bought 6,500 acres south of Mission Creek to water and subdivide. KLO Road, named for the company, became the way up to the benches. An East Kelowna post office opened in 1909.

By 1911 nearly 200 settlers lived in East Kelowna, the Canyon Creek Irrigation Company was building ditches, flumes and dams, and pack trains hauled supplies up KLO Road to irrigation camps and to Kettle Valley Railway crews in Myra Canyon. KLO went bankrupt in 1923, but the orchards carried on. The South East Kelowna Irrigation District was incorporated in 1920 and grew to serve nearly 9,000 acres, more than a fifth of today's city. Neighbours built the East Kelowna Community Hall with volunteer labour, and it opened in 1940. Gallagher's Canyon golf course followed in 1980. In August 2003 the Okanagan Mountain Park fire burned through Myra Canyon and destroyed most of its historic wooden trestles, just after the Kettle Valley Railway had been named a National Historic Site. The trestles were rebuilt by 2008. In 2018 the City took over the irrigation district and split drinking water from farm irrigation, bringing treated water to more than 2,000 homes. Today the 2040 OCP keeps urban growth inside a Permanent Growth Boundary and discourages subdividing farmland, so the area remains a landscape of orchards, vineyards and acreages.

1. 1904The Kelowna Land and Orchard Company forms and buys 6,500 acres south of Mission Creek. Source
2. 1920The South East Kelowna Irrigation District is incorporated on November 2. Source
3. 2018The City of Kelowna takes over SEKID on June 4 and begins separating domestic and irrigation water. Source

The homes & their setting

Mostly farms, orchards, vineyards and rural homes on acreages, with golf course homes around Gallagher's Canyon, where the Canyon course opened in 1980, treed half acre lots near Hall Road and some manufactured home parks. Most properties are detached homes on their own land, and many rely on wells or septic.

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

• East Kelowna Community Hall — Built by volunteer labour and opened in 1940 on land donated by storekeeper Harry Dodd; still the area's gathering place. History source
• KLO House, 2796 KLO Road — Built in 1908 in connection with the Kelowna Land and Orchard Company that opened up the benches. History source
• Myra Canyon trestles, Kettle Valley Railway — Part of a National Historic Site; most trestles burned in 2003 and were rebuilt by 2008. History source