Once Thomas Shorts introduced the first steamboat on the lake, there was a steady rotation of new and better commercial vessels in the Okanagan, continuing until the mid 20th century. Each of these ships, however small, seemed to achieve a personality of their own, solidifying themselves into the collective memory of the community. In the Okanagan valley, each of these distinctive personalities helped to establish and provide for the settler communities in a myriad of ways.

Old Kelowna, Capt. Thomas Shorts. ca. 1890 In 1882 Thomas Shorts arrived in the Okanagan valley via the old Fur Brigade Trail after...

Canadian Pacific Railway owned and operated trains and hotels across Canada, built to encourage people to travel and see the country.

The popularity of luggage trunks skyrocketed during the Victorian era, perfectly timed with the golden age of railroad and ship transportati

cooks would have no option but to pack lightly, meaning crews would have to acquire provisions somewhere in the remote back country