Historic O'Keefe Ranch

Historic O'Keefe Ranch A must-see North Okanagan heritage attraction 🌾
Experience pioneer history, heritage buildings, and seasonal events at Historic O’Keefe Ranch.

Open Saturday and Sunday 10 AM - 4 PM. We acknowledge that the land on which we gather is the unceded territory of the Syilx Peoples. Ranch History:

Cornelius O'Keefe was a man with a tremendous drive to make something of his life. Not content to just raise cattle, he was the first rancher in the North Okanagan to open a general store on his property. His ranch became a gathering place for newcom

ers to the Okanagan Valley and soon was being called "Okanagan." So it is no surprise that, once British Columbia had joined the Canadian confederation in 1871, the man who rallied the few settlers in the area to ask the Canadian government for a post office was Cornelius O'Keefe. As a result of the petition organized by O'Keefe, the chief postal inspector announced in the Victoria Colonist on August 6, 1872 that he "had made temporary arrangements with Mr. Barnard for a weekly mail service to Kamloops and the Okanagan." On August 14, 1872, the post office was establilshed with Cornelius as postmaster, a position he held for the next 40 years. Once the post office was established at the ranch, the BC Express Stage Lines ran a weekly stagecoach from Cache Creek to the O'Keefe Ranch on the new wagon road from Fort Kamloops. While there were several ranchers who settled ahead of O'Keefe, his is the only ranch that was still being lived in by the original family 100 years later. Today some of the oldest buildings in the valley are still being used and preserved as part of the O'Keefe Ranch heritage site.

We are still on for our OK Family Day! Make sure you pop on by.πŸ‘€πŸ˜
08/29/2026

We are still on for our OK Family Day! Make sure you pop on by.πŸ‘€πŸ˜

Family Picnic Weekend Pt. 2!
Our Family Picnic Weekend will be happening this upcoming weekend!

Make sure you come on by and enjoy the Ranch and fun; you cannot miss it.πŸ‘€πŸ€ 

Fun Fact Fridays! 🐎🎠Did you know, we are going to be at IPE this year? πŸ‘€Make sure you come on down to Armstrong and chec...
08/28/2026

Fun Fact Fridays! 🐎🎠

Did you know, we are going to be at IPE this year? πŸ‘€
Make sure you come on down to Armstrong and check us out in our booth!

As well, as our OK Family Picnic Day is happening this weekend!
We will be having wagon rides, building tours, mini golf, animal petting, and lots of fun!β›³β›ͺ

Make sure you don't miss out on this weekend!

Throwback History Thursday! πŸ‘“ Cornelius O'Keefe died on May 26th, 1919, at the age of 82. When he died, he left a will f...
08/27/2026

Throwback History Thursday! πŸ‘“

Cornelius O'Keefe died on May 26th, 1919, at the age of 82.
When he died, he left a will for some of his children. πŸ“œ

He and Mary Ann had nine children, and originally had all nine in his will, but had changed it to include only seven, as two had died early on.

He left them $20,000 and had Mary Ann give them their pay once they had reached 25 years old. She would also be given $20,000. πŸ’΅

Cornelius had left his wife, who was the trustee of the will, all his plates, china, books, pictures, liquors, many household items, and much more. πŸ›οΈπŸ–ΌοΈπŸͺ†

Come on down to the Ranch this week and take a look around at all the history!πŸ‘€

Wacky Wednesday!😁Have you seen our Jacob Sheep?πŸ‘πŸWe have many of these rare species on site, along with the rest of our ...
08/26/2026

Wacky Wednesday!😁
Have you seen our Jacob Sheep?πŸ‘πŸ

We have many of these rare species on site, along with the rest of our animals!
Keep your eyes peeled for the little babies.πŸ‘€

Go check them out; they would love to see you stop by! πŸ‘

Trivia Tuesday Answer! πŸ“ƒWe have so many artifacts and documents on the Ranch.On our website, you can see that we have ab...
08/26/2026

Trivia Tuesday Answer! πŸ“ƒ

We have so many artifacts and documents on the Ranch.
On our website, you can see that we have about 1.5k textile documents, 3k photographic objects, and more than 10k artifacts in total!πŸ“œπŸ“

https://www.okeeferanch.ca

Come on down to the Ranch and check out our buildings on Saturdays and Sundays!

Trivia Tuesdays!We have many different artifacts, documents and objects from when it all started, but how many are there...
08/25/2026

Trivia Tuesdays!
We have many different artifacts, documents and objects from when it all started, but how many are there?

Can you guess roughly how many artifacts and documents we have on the Ranch? πŸ‘€

Mammal/Animal Mondays! πŸ“We know how cats are mammals, but have you heard of a bird that feels like a cat?πŸ‘€We have some S...
08/24/2026

Mammal/Animal Mondays! πŸ“
We know how cats are mammals, but have you heard of a bird that feels like a cat?πŸ‘€

We have some Silkie Chickens, or Chinese Silk Chickens, on the Ranch, and some baby chicks following their mother as well.
These chickens were named "furry chickens" in the 13th Century in Asia, where they were founded.
In 1874, they were officially recognized as part of the global animal list and are now kept as pets.

Did you know that Silkies are what we call Polydactyly?
Polydactyly means having an extra 1-2 ligaments; normal chickens have only 4 talons, while these guys can grow more! πŸ€πŸ”
Some other animals are more likely to be polydactyl as well, like certain cat breeds.🐱

Come on down to the Ranch and learn more about our amazing and unique creatures!

Family Picnic Weekend Pt. 2!Our Family Picnic Weekend will be happening this upcoming weekend!Make sure you come on by a...
08/23/2026

Family Picnic Weekend Pt. 2!
Our Family Picnic Weekend will be happening this upcoming weekend!

Make sure you come on by and enjoy the Ranch and fun; you cannot miss it.πŸ‘€πŸ€ 

Fun Fact Friday! 🀠Did you know the Greenhow Museum has a western area?πŸ‘€It has a bunch of different artifacts from throug...
08/21/2026

Fun Fact Friday! 🀠
Did you know the Greenhow Museum has a western area?πŸ‘€

It has a bunch of different artifacts from throughout the years of the O'Keefe Ranch, and lots to learn!

Just turn to the right and take a walk through. 🐎🌾

Come on down to the Ranch and put on your cowboy hats! πŸ§‘β€πŸŒΎ

08/21/2026

Address

9380 Highway 97 North
Vernon, BC
V1H1W9

Opening Hours

Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

250-542-7868

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