The history of Pandosy and the Mission

Have you ever wondered where the name Pandosy came from, or why we call the Mission, the Mission? While many Kelowna residents may have heard the name Father Pandosy, they may not know the story behind him.

Father Charles John Felex Adolphe Marie Pandosy, known as Charles Marie, was an Oblate priest and ministered to Natives and Europeans in widely separated parts of the province for over 30 years. His mission, with its church, school and farms were established in 1859-60 and formed the first non-native settlement in the Okanagan Valley.

Father Pandosy was born in 1824 at Margerides, France, near Marseilles, and spent time in what is now Washington State before coming north. In October 1859, Father Pandosy and a handful of settlers came to the Okanagan Valley. The three Oblates Mary Immaculate (referred to as OMI), Father Charles Pandosy (OMI), Father Pierre Richard (OMI) and Brother Surel, were given the task of opening a Mission in the Okanagan Valley on behalf of their order.

The group’s site chosen for their first winter when they arrived in the area was Duck Lake, but they were ill-prepared and spent a hungry winter there. The group was forced to eat their horses and found it difficult to find water as the lake was frozen solid.

In 1860, they found a more suitable place on the east side of Okanagan Lake, which is now part of Kelowna. This location is now known Mission Creek and was home to a house, a church, and a school run by Father Pandosy and Father Richard. The group created a mission in the area, hence the name we now use.

Father Pandosy was also responsible for missions in the valley and world travel from one to the other on foot, without shoes. He would perform baptisms, marriages and funerals as well as teach native people European agriculture techniques and interceded for them when it came to land and fishing rights.

He died in 1891 and his gravesite forgotten. But in the 1990s, a group of students from UBC set out to find it and it was eventually located in a vegetable field near the Mission, under a tomato patch. His grave is now commemorated with a small replica church.

In the 1960s, the Okanagan Historical Society took on the task of preserving the site on Benvoulin Road and along with several other organization, and has preserved the four original buildings, the Chapel, The Root house, the Brothers’ house and the Barn. Other buildings have been moved to the site including the Christien house, the McDougall house, the Blacksmith shop, and the Caretaker’s quarters.

Today, the Pandosy Mission is jointly administered by the Okanagan Historical Society, through the Father Pandosy Mission Committee, and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Nelson, who remain the owners of this historic site.

Many people may think that K.L.O. Road in Kelowna has something to do with Father Pandosy and the Mission because of its location, but that isn’t so. In May 1904, the Kelowna Land and Orchard Company purchased 6,700 acres south-east of Kelowna for a subdivision. The first fruit trees were planted in 1905 and by 1912 the orchard covered 200 acres. The street is named after the company.

If you enjoyed this read, learn more about the history of Okanagan Lake here and Rattlesnake Island and the Peachland Castle here.