Penticton's People

Tom Ellis

Penticton was built on some of the 31,000 acres of land in the Southern Okanagan that belonged to cattle rancher Tom Ellis’ empire in 1890. Today, shoppers herd themselves up and down Penticton’s Main Street and beachgoers laze in the Sun at the beach on Okanagan Lake. Windsor Avenue Park, located just east of the Penticton River Channel, was once Ellis’ home ranch. The city’s first hotel was built on land overlooking Okanagan Lake that Ellis had sold for development as the Penticton town site. The Ellis Creek Canyon hiking area and Ellis Street are both named after Ellis in recognition of his importance to the development of Penticton. If they were still in operation today, Ellis' ranches would no doubt be supplying beef to many of Penticton's restaurants.

Penticton Indian Band-Syilx First Nations

The Penticton Indian Band of the Syilx First Nations survived off the land near Penticton long before Tom Ellis settled here in the mid 19th Century. There were no parks or recreation trails back then, but these First Nations lived in harmony with the land and it’s abundance of wildlife. Restaurants weren’t required back then, as Skaha and Okanagan lakes provided a steady supply of salmon and other fish to eat. Shopping malls didn’t exist, but that was fine since deer could be hunted and used to make food, clothing, tools and other necessities. The memory of how the Penticton Indian Band lived is preserved and on display at the En'owkin Centre on the Penticton Indian Reserve.