Founded in 1867, the Historic O’Keefe Ranch offers a fascinating glimpse into the life of an early farming community in the heart of the Okanagan Valley. The O’Keefes of O’kanagan, a welcome resource for any visitor to the site, is an in-depth look into the multiple branches and generations of the family that gave the ranch its name.

When Michael O’Keefe arrived in Canada a penniless Irish immigrant in 1819, he had no idea the impact his descendants would leave on the Canadian West. Michael’s son Cornelius arrived in British Columbia, also penniless, in 1862, and over the course of fifty years became a prosperous rancher, farmer, and developer, marrying three times and fathering seventeen children. Indeed, the story of Cornelius O’Keefe, ranching magnate, is as much the story of the five strong women who lived and worked alongside him, persevering through the economic downturns and years when the family’s very survival was a struggle.

Ken Mather has been researching western Canadian heritage for over four decades, working in curatorial, management, and research roles at Fort Edmonton Park, Barkerville, and the O’Keefe Ranch since the early 1970s. He is the editor of the Okanagan Historical Society Report and is the winner of the Joe Martin Memorial award (2015) for his contribution to BC Cowboy Heritage. He is the author of several books on pioneer and ranching history, including Stagecoach North, Trail North (a finalist for the British Columbia Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Historical Writing), Ranch Tales, and Frontier Cowboys and the Great Divide.

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