History of Osoyoos

Osoyoos means “place where two lakes come together” or “meeting of two waters.” It was a well known stopping place during the fur trade era in the early 1800’s. This land was convenient for trade; it had clear, fresh water, good grazing for their animals, often year-round and it possessed higher ground for cooler temperatures during summer months.

Throughout the last two centuries the area has had many names. In the early 1800’s it was known as Oachenawangan, or “land of the good spirit.” From the beginning, it has had the grace and goodwill of many.

Osoyoos is located in one of the most unusual geographical regions in Canada. In the shadows of the Cascade Mountains, it has its own climate zone called the “Osoyoos arid biotic zone.”

It boasts the lowest precipitation, the warmest annual temperature, the warmest fresh water lake (Osoyoos Lake) and Canada’s only pocket desert. We are at the northern tip of the Sonoran Desert extending from Mexico into Canada, which has a unique ecosystem. Several of the singular plants and animals are found nowhere else in Canada - some, nowhere else in the world. Many occupy a place on the rarest and most threatened species list.

The gold panning years, from 1833 into the 1860’s, brought many changes. The “Wild West” brought the need for rules and regulations. Magistrates William George Cox and John Carmichael Haynes were brought in to keep law and order. They would issue miners licenses and collect cross-border fees. They were the gold commissioners, tax collectors, custom inspectors and the police. Some of Judge Haynes' ranchland (built in 1882) is still (barely) standing and can be seen during our tour.

In the mid-1860’s, "Okanogan Smith", one of the first white settlers, brought small apple trees and peach seeds on his return from one of his trips from Fort Hopes. Within no time the fruit patch grew to thirty acres of peaches, pears, cherries, plums and grapes. This was the beginning of the famous Okanagan fruits.

In July of 1874, the District of Yale was drawing up a map of the country directly around “soyoos”. The sparsely-settled area was indicated with a circle. While being printed, the circle, in front of the word soyoos looked like a letter o, and therefore, read osoyoos! And the rest, as they say, is history.