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Museum tour dates set

The dates have been set for Summerland Museum’s annual community tours.
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The Okanagan Fur Brigade Linear Park continues above Peachland. This park was established as a Summerland Centennial project in 2006.

The dates have been set for Summerland Museum’s annual community tours.

A total of eight tours are offered: four Fur Brigade Tours through Garnett Valley, three Prairie Valley Tours and a Peach Orchard Cemetery Tour.

All tours start at 9 a.m. to avoid the heat of summer days. There is a cost for the tours, but discounts are given to Museum Society members and members of the Okanagan Historical Society.

The Fur Brigade Tour is timely as this year marks the 200th anniversary of the fur traders using the Brigade Trail. The tour dates are July 1, July 29, Aug. 7, and Aug. 20 and will include discussion of First Nations history, the use of Garnett Lake as one of the important encampment sites and the establishment of the settlement of Priest, the first non-native settlement in British Columbia that wasn’t fortified. Priest was established in 1845, prior to the formation of British Territories and indicated on maps in May 1846.

The Prairie Valley tour uses the Trans Canada Trail. The dates are July 3, Aug. 1, and Aug. 21. This tour describes Summerland’s unique geology, First Nations history, and the numerous famous people who owned land in Prairie Valley.

This includes the properties of three National Bank presidents, Sam McGee, R.H. Agur and Henry Joseph, the only person to play in the first organized hockey game and football game.

The Peach Orchard Cemetery Tour will be held Sept. 3 and will include the history of some of Summerland’s early citizens who are buried there.

There is a limit of 15 people per tour. Please phone the Summerland Museum (250-494-9395) for more information and reservations.