FATHER CHARLES JOHN FELEX ALDOPHE MARIE PANDOSY
Charles Pandosy, born in Marseilles in 1824, worked as a missionary in the Oregon territory until 1858 when he moved to Vancouver Island, and then to the Okanagan in 1859, where he established the Immaculate conception mission near the present-day site of Kelowna. It was the first non-aboriginal community in the valley. He served all over BC before returning to the Okanagan in 1887, where he did much to stimulate farming and fruit-growing and pioneered the wine industry. He died in 1891.
A missionary who served as an intermediary during the “Indian Wars” in the Oregon Territory, Father Pandosy arrived near what is now Kelowna in 1859, after US troops accused him of conspiring with the Yakima Nation, then burned and looted his mission. Back then he was known as the Bearded Giant – a huge, powerful man with a booming voice, who served as doctor, teacher, lawyer, orator, botanist, musician (he played the French horn), and sports coach. Known to settle arguments with his fists, Pandosy spoke several native languages, and complained to superiors that the indifference of First Nations to Christianity resulted from the un-Christian behavior of the whites. He is a folk hero – the Johnny Appleseed of the Okanagan, who planted the first fruit trees, anticipating one of Canada’s principal fruit growing areas.
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THE OBLATES
The Oblates of Mary Immaculate are an order of Catholic Priests founded in France in 1826. The order's Motto is "to preach the gospel to the poor", and accordingly, they sent missionaries all over the world.
The first small band of Oblates arrived in Canada in 1841. Six years later five priests headed west to the Oregon Territory to minister to the region's Indian peoples. This was a turbulent time between Indians and European settlers, and the priests often found themselves caught between Warriors and Cavalry
The Missionaries moved into the Interior of British Columbia in 1858 to establish a Mission in what is now the Kelowna area. This was a central facility from which priests made trips to outlying Native settlements in Winfield, Westbank, Princeton, Hedley, Penticton, Six Mile Creek, the Head of Okanagan Lake and other places. For the area's European settlers, the priests offered a much needed link with civilization, providing schooling for their children and regular church services for all.
In 1977 the Oblates of Mary Immaculate withdrew from the Okanagan Valley leaving behind than a Legacy of service to God and Man. Their Mission site is now the most visible reminder of that heritage.
From the Sign at the Building
SITE HISTORY
Founded by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (0M1) in 1860, the Father Pandosy Mission and Museum site was originally called the Immaculate Conception Mission.
The pre-empted 160 acres were registered on November 30, 1860, with Magistrate William George Cox, at his office in Rock Creek. Thus began the first permanent European non-native settlement in the interior of the Crown Colony of British Columbia now known as British Columbia.
In the late 1890s the Mission headquarters were moved to St. Louis Mission in Kamloops. In 1902, the 2500 acres once owned by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) were sold to Messrs. Gruell and Fascioux who in turn sold to the Kelowna Land and Orchard Co. (KLO) in 1906.
In 1954, the three oldest dovetailed cedar log constructed buildings were destined to be demolished. The site was saved with the intervention of seven gentlemen who, along with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, re-purchased the 15 acres of land once owned by the Oblates.
Today, the Mission property is owned by the Bishop of Nelson. A committee, under the direction of the Okanagan Historical Society, lease and look after the operation and maintenance of the four-acre site.
From the Sign at the entrance to the mission