Ranch Turns 150

The O’Keefe Ranch will hold a 150th birthday party today.

A celebration will be held from 12 to 2 pm at the site in Spallumcheen.

Marketing and special events coordinator Kelly MacIntosh says they are getting a little extra mileage from their milestone being so close to Canada’s 150th on July 1.

“For sure it has, and it’s pretty cool that we can say we’re older than Canada — by two weeks.”

The ranch got its start in 1867 when Cornelius O’Keefe and his partners decided to pre-empt the land for cattle ranching.

MacIntosh says most people think of them as a tourist stop.

“I’d like to really emphasize, yes we are a tourist attraction and a historic site, but we are also a museum. We have over 7,000 artifacts in our collection. We are a registered not for profit organization, a charity, owned by the City of Vernon.”