Fintry Estate
7655 Fintry Delta Rd. V1Z 3V2 Kelowna, BC, Canada

We have a new addition to our self-guided and virtual tours: 'The Sporting Artist in the Dining Room'. This new tour takes you through the history of Cecil Aldin’s artwork in the Manor House. With sincere thanks to Morgan Marshall for researching and creating this historical and art booklet! Enjoy as a downloadable pdf at https://www.fintry.ca/eventsactivities/ Tour copies will be available at the Manor House this summer.

Interesting look at what the toll costs were to cross the first floating bridge in old Kelowna. The bridge was tolled from 1958 to 1963 to help pay for the $7.5... million cost of the structure. We see that the cost of a horse drawn vehicle was .25 per vehicle... wonder how many times that was used? See more

Thanks Greater Vernon Museum & Archives!

Today is National Indigenous Languages Day <3

Thanks Old Kelowna!

Sincere thanks to our friends and members support this year, very appreciated! Until we can safely re-open, please join us on a virtual tour - Fintry's Trophy Room https://vimeo.com/426060219 More virtual tours are at www.fintry.ca/virtual-tours/ We hope to open mid-June for in person tours, please check our website and this page for updates. Join as a member, volunteer, or support the Friends of Fintry with a donation at https://www.fintry.ca/ or by email at [email protected]

The Octagon - April 2021 Happy Spring everyone! The crocuses are blooming, the birds are singing and the earth is awakening after this long and difficult winter. Brighter days are ahead and soon this whole pandemic will be in our rear view mirror and we’ll be saying remember when..! The awakening of the Fintry Manor House in readiness for our 2021 season will soon be taking place once the weather warms up. READ MORE ... https://www.fintry.ca/blog/

The Statute of Westminster is a momentous, yet often overlooked, occasion in Canadian history. Despite being granted the right to self-government in 1867, Canada did not enjoy full legal autonomy until the Statute was passed on December 11, 1931.

Have you ever been out for a walk or hike, saw a bird, and then wondered what type of bird it was? We have a new birding map & guide that might be able to help ...you identify a few of those birds. Be sure to check it out! https://www.visitwestside.com/listings/birding-map-guide/ Photo: Brad Vissia

For those that have Zoom Meetings you will fully understand this.....

Incredible! What appeared to be a tornado formed over the lake, near Fintry Friday morning.

Heritage Week is February 15 - 21/2021 For a listing of Heritage Week events, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/heritageweekokanagan

Congratulations to Quails Gate Winery! Well deserved! And, the winery maintains the historic Susan Allison house

Football (or soccer as the game is called in some parts of the world) has a long history. Football in its current form arose in England in the middle of the 19th century. But alternative versions of the game existed much earlier and are a part of the football history. The first known examples of a team game involving a ball, which was made out of a rock, occurred in old Mesoamerican cultures for over 3,000 years ago. According to the sources, the ball would symbolize the sun ...and the captain of the losing team would be sacrificed to the gods. The first known ball game which also involved kicking took place In China in the 3rd and 2nd century BC under the name Cuju. Cuju was played with a round ball on an area of a square. It later spread to Japan and was practiced under ceremonial forms. Other earlier variety of ball games had been known from Ancient Greece. The ball was made by shreds of leather filled with hair (the first documents of balls filled with air are from the 7th century). In the Ancient Rome, games with balls were not included in the entertainment on the big arenas, but could occur in exercises in the military. It was the Roman culture that would bring football to the British island (Britannica). It is, however, uncertain in which degree the British people were influenced by this variety and in which degree they had developed their own variants. See more

Hercules Love The Fintry area has attracted a lot of characters. Among them was Hercules Love, a Civil War veteran who settled above Rum Jug Canyon along upper Shorts Creek in the early 1890s. ‘Old Man Love’ was a small, wiry man with a long white beard who was said to have fought Native Americans on the plains before coming to B.C. He’d heard rumours of gold in the Interior and was determined to find his payload in the Shorts Creek canyon. From about 1890 until 1915, Love d...rilled and hammered into the side of the mountain, eventually exposing hundreds of feet along lateral mine shafts. He lived close by in a tiny log shack five by 10 feet with a dirt floor. From his bunk, he could reach everything in the cabin. About once a week, Love would hike three miles (five km) down the canyon to Tom Attenborough’s ranch ‘Rum Jug Canyon’ to purchase supplies and pick up his mail. He spent most of his US Army pension to buy dynamite for the mine and coal for his small forge. Hercules Love was everlastingly enthusiastic, expecting to strike gold at any moment. By himself, he wielded a rock drill and sledge hammer, never losing hope as he penetrated 250 feet into the side of ‘Zion’ Mountain. Locals dubbed the tunnel ‘Love’s Labour Lost.’ After it caved in, Love was undaunted. He dug another mine tunnel nearby and called it ‘Golden Dream.’ In 1915, after almost 25 years of prospecting, Love’s Golden Dream mine flooded. The disaster was too much for the old-timer, now in his late 70s, and he left the Okanagan for his sister’s place in Kittitas County, Washington. Ironically, just a few years later, gold was discovered on a tributary of Shorts Creek near Love’s venture. From 1922 to 1935, the White Elephant mine produced over 125 kg of gold and 18 kg of silver. Photo courtesy of the John Sugars family.

Bob Hayes shares the 1859 Christmas history of Father Charles Pandosy

The Okanagan Historical Society's 2021 calendar is also available this year - another great Christmas gift

Thanks for sharing this Greater Vernon Museum

We are so excited to announce that we have brought back our popular Throwback Calendar. Each month features a different stand-out photograph and blurb to give i...nsight into a past event that took place in our city. But this year, there is a twist! With the purchase of a 2021 calendar, you will have the option to fill out a raffle ticket for a chance to win $100 monthly. A winner will be announced on the 15th of each month, giving you 12 chances to win! May the odds be ever in your favour. Raffle calendars will go on sale online for $25.00 on December 10, and can be purchased through our Virtual Gift Shop: https://greatervernonmuseum.square.site/s/shop. You can also pre-order now! #gvma #vernonmuseum #2021calendar #rafflecalendar #vernonbc #shoplocal #supportlocal

November 18th is #AskAConservator day! Nikki Bose Curator of Collections will be answering your questions. Are you curious about how we care for books, photographs, furniture, household objects, and more? Put your questions in the comments, and stay tuned for the answers on the 18th.

Lest We Forget Capt. James Cameron Dun-Waters enlisted with the British Army, Middlesex Yoemanry to fight in the Great War in 1915 and trained troops in France, Italy and Egypt. He retired three years later. In 1918, recognizing the difficulties of travel for convalescing soldiers, Dun-Waters built a convalescent hospital in Egypt using his own funds. He, his wife Alice and Katie Stuart operated the hospital until the end of the war.

A message from 1910, or WWI

In honour of National Aboriginal Veterans Day, please enjoy this short video as a tribute to our Syilx veterans.