(file photo/Vernon Matters Staff)

By Liam Verster

Community Fundraising, Volunteering

Community members stepping up to maintain O’Keefe Ranch

Jun 24, 2025 | 2:28 PM

The Desert Cove Community is putting its support behind the local heritage site.

The community said it had raised funds to fix and repair the billboards on each side of the O’Keefe Ranch, while volunteers have mowed and knocked down tall grass and weeds, power washed the old paint off the graveyard fence, and are planting more flowers around the property.

The community members were doing this in the hopes of making the Ranch more appealing to visitors as it has failed to secure additional funding from the City of Vernon on top of the existing agreement to cover loan repayments and operations.

“As you know the City of Vernon has refused to give the ranch operating funds for this season so the Ranch committee is virtually broke,” Douglas MacGregor, with the Desert Cove Community group, said in an email to Vernon Matters.

“Our effort right now is to help get them through the summer tourist season. We are also trying to put together together a committee to steer a fund raising effort to restore the old buildings to their previous glory.”

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The group added the city’s funding agreement with O’Keefe expires in 2027, and it hoped the community would step up at that point to preserve the historic ranch.