If the original settlers
of Keremeos could see it now,
no doubt they'd be surprised
by the changes in the area
surrounding this south
central British Columbia
village. The Similkameen
Valley, located just below
it, has seen the effects of
floods, fire and time itself.

In just one century, the
terrain has evolved from arid
scrub flats to acres of rich
farmland and fruit trees have
replaced the bunchgrass that
once grew there. Even the
town itself has changed.
First established in 1907,
the site moved three times
before settling in its

current location.
    In its day, the
Similkameen Valley was the
preferred pathway to the
interior of British Columbia.
Native people followed the
river, while early explorers
and fur traders from the
Hudson’s Bay Company used the
valley as a trade and supply

route. There are still traces
of the section of the Dewdney
Trail from Hope to Rock Creek
that ran through the valley
during the mining boom of the
1860s. But most of trail was
covered by the Great Northern
Railway railbed, constructed
in 1907 to meet the needs of
the miners, the ranchers, and