The Osoyoos Sailing Clubhouse was once the Osoyoos Railway Station, built around 1944, possibly the last station to be built on the
Kettle Valley Railway (KVR). Built by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in the iconic style of wooden railway stations of the era, its heritage is unmistakable. The KVR, built beginning in 1898, was, by the time this station was built, a subsidy of the CPR.
Originally located a short distance south, in what is now Gyro Park, in 1983 the club raised the money to save the station and moved it north to its present location. They then renovated as necessary and moved in. It remains the clubhouse for the sailing club to this day.
An informational plaque has been mounted in front of the station, the text of which appears below.
Osoyoos Station
Welcome to the Osoyoos station of the Kettle Valley Railway -now home to the Osoyoos Sailing Club. The pattern of the walkway you are standing on pays homage to the railway that was pulled out in 1979. This railway section ran 15 km from the Haynes Packing House just south of Oliver to the Osoyoos Co-operative Fruit and Vegetable Growers Packing House where Watermark Beach Resort is located today.
The last spike of the Osoyoos section was driven on December 28, 1944 by pioneer George Fraser. The rail extension responded to population and agricultural growth requiring more efficient access to bring local produce to market. The line transported various goods to Penticton where they were barged to Kelowna and onto the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The main cargo consisted of ground crops such as cantaloupes, watermelons, cucumbers, tomatoes and the versatile, mild-flavoured zucca melons, in addition to apples, peaches, pears, plums, and cherries.
At its peak, as many as 42 refrigerated cars left Osoyoos each day. Steam locomotives were used until the switch to diesel in 1954. Eventually shipping by truck edged out rail as a quicker and more cost-effective means to move products, and the line was last used for freight in 1976. Sailing club members raised the funds to save the station, and in 1983 it was moved north from its original location in the middle of what is now Gyro Park, to its current site.