In 1867, cowboys Cornelius O’Keefe, Thomas Greenhow, and Thomas Wood arrived at Swan Lake in the Okanagan Valley while driving cattle north. The area’s rich grasslands and reliable water supply led O’Keefe and Greenhow to claim 160 acres each, becoming some of the region’s earliest settlers. Wood moved on, but O’Keefe and Greenhow stayed on the land, choosing to build their permanent homesteads there.
Cornelius O’Keefe built a thriving operation, he established a mill, church, store, post office, and blacksmith shop. By the 1880s, his ranch expanded to 12,000 acres, and he moved into a grand mansion. However, as the Okanagan economy shifted from cattle ranching to orchards, O’Keefe sold much of his land in 1907. The O’Keefe family continued ranching until Cornelius’s death in 1919.
In 1967, 100 years after O’Keefe’s land claim, his descendants opened the ranch as a heritage site for people to visit and get a glimpse into the life of an early settler here in BC.
Today, it is owned by the City of Vernon and operated by the O’Keefe Ranch & Interior Heritage Society, preserving the region’s history. On the site they have a restaurant, fully operational farm with many different types of animals and a variety of events. For more information check out their website!