A sod-roofed cabin, close to 130 years old, has been added to Summerland’s heritage register.
Municipal council voted to add the cabin to the register on Monday evening.
The resolution was recommended by the municipality’s Heritage Advisory Commission.
Placing the cabin on the register gives the municipality the ability to prevent significant alterations or the demolition of the cabin.
The cabin is a log structure with a grass covered roof. It is located on a 17-hectare parcel of land between Highway 97 and Landry Crescent in Trout Creek.
The land is within the Agricultural Land Reserve and is zoned A1-Agricultural.
This building is believed to have been built between 1886 and 1888 by cattlemen for the Thomas Ellis Ranch.
It is one of the Okanagan Valley’s oldest surviving vernacular structures.
It is valued for the association with its very first owner Okanagan’s cattle baron and rancher Thomas Ellis.
It is also valued for its long agriculture association with ranching, dairy farming and fruit farming.
This cabin has a long history of connections with people of historical importance including Lt. Gov. George H.V. Bulyea, Alberta’s first lieutenant governor, who once owned that land.
Claude Evans and Jaques Landry were land owners and cabin residents as well as dairy farmers and orchardists.
Former Summerland doctor Wilfred Evans was raised in the cabin.
This cabin’s prominent location, adjacent to Highway 97, makes it a visible point of interest and a subject of curiosity for thousands of tourists every year.