The story of Peachland really began in the early 1800s with the push north from the Pacific Northwest in search of furs. Within a few decades, trails blazed through the wilderness were used heavily by prospectors driven by the allure of British Columbia gold. Over time, homesteaders began to arrive in the Peachland area and it was they who discovered the true gold of the Okanagan Valley, orchard fruits, notably peaches.
Alexander Ross led an expedition in 1812 up the Columbia and Okanagan Rivers to establish a fur trading post in the B.C. Interior. The group established Fort Kamloops and named Trepanier and Jacque Creeks in the Peachland area.
Twelve years later, Tom McKay blazed a similar trail from Fort Okanogan in Washington State to Fort Kamloops. The trail became known as the Fur Brigade Trail and it cut through the Okanagan Valley by way of Garnet Lake to Deep Creek and then along an upper bench in present day Peachland northward.
Furs were gathered from natives and sent down to the trail to Astoria, Oregon, where they were sent by ship to England.
At the time, Peachland did not exist, but the area did have a stopping point on the Fur Brigade Trail. May Springs (located near the Loan property on Princess Street) provided a rest stop with fresh water for fur traders and, later on, for gold seekers heading north to the Caribou gold fields. In 1884, Charles Lambly established the Lambly Ranch beside Trepanier Creek. The ranch stretched from the lake back into the gorge (where the elementary school now sits) and was home to hundreds of cattle and an orchard where peaches thrived.
Three years later, Gus Hewitt formed the Camp Hewitt Mining and Development Company, which began mining on the south side of Pincushion Mountain. Hewitt also built a wharf on the lakeshore where steam boats could offload supplies for his mine. The wharf was located at the present day location of Renfrew Road and Hwy. 97 and, together with a camp near the mine, became known as Camp Hewitt. In those early days, steamboats would make two stops in the soon-to-be Peachland area: Lambly’s Landing and Camp Hewitt — two place names that preceded the name Peachland. W.A. Lang, who became Peachland’s first mayor, opened the first general store in the area next to Hewitt’s wharf and a saw mill quickly took shape next to the store. In 1888, J.M. Robinson, his wife and a party of his friends arrived in southern B.C. for a holiday, packing in with horses. With all the gold mining activity in the Boundary Country, a bit of prospecting added to the pleasures of their trip to the Okanagan. Robinson and some associates were interested enough that they formed the Canadian and American Gold Mining Company, and purchased Gus Hewitt’s mining interests (the Gladstone Mine). The Gladstone Mine soon petered out, but Robinson happened upon the Lambly Ranch and had a taste of Okanagan peaches. The snack gave him an idea and soon Robinson purchased as much land as possible. He formed the Peachland Townsite Company and promoted his new town in Manitoba. By 1898, a one-room schoolhouse opened and a post office was set up with the post mark Peachland.
Today the Okanagan Valley region is the fastest growing area of British Columbia. Visitors and new residents are drawn here by the sunshine – over 300 days per year, the longest golf season in BC, the second largest wine region in North America, several major ski resorts and amazing watersports on the numerous fresh water lakes. Okanagan Valley real estate is some of the most precious in the world, and Peachland, situated right next door to West Kelowna, boasts over 11 km of public beach front, the longest in the valley.
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