4 Fascinating Facts About the History of Kekuli Bay Provincial Park

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#1 Origin and Name of the Park

Kekuli Bay Provincial Park was established on March 8th, 1990. It consists of 57 hectares overlooking the beautiful Kalamalka Lake about 11 Km south of Vernon, BC. Originally the park was called “Kalamalka Lake West Park” (as opposed to the provincial park on the east side of the lake directly across from it). 

A small creek enters Kalamalka Lake at Kekuli Bay: PC Joe Harder

This name was changed though to reflect the rich history of the “Kekulis” (see next Fact) that once dotted the landscape there. The current name was chosen from submissions of local students who participated in a naming contest. There is also a “Kickwillie Loop” near the head of Kalamalka Lake that reflects this history. 

#2 What Is a Kekuli?

Sometimes referred to as a “Quiggly Hole” or “Kickwillie”, a Kekuli is a semi-underground pithouse used by the Indigenous Peoples of the Okanagan Valley and elsewhere in British Columbia. An article in the 1971 issue of the Okanagan Historical Society Reports describes it as follows: 

Artistic rendition of a  Kekuli : Lake Country Museum

“A hole was dug, making a flat earth floor, then the stones carried up as  a low wall. Then poles would be lashed together in a low conical manner,  leaving an opening at the top. This would be the entrance to the dwelling via  a long notched pole. Over the lashed pole structure, would be laid other  poles, then mats and hides, and the whole thing covered with earth. The top  entrance hole would also serve as the means whereby smoke could escape.”

Kekulis “Generally come in large groupings known as quiggly towns, some with hundreds of holes indicating a potential population of thousands.” (Wikipedia).  Am Okanagan/ Shuswap woman, Mary Thomas, helped reconstruct a Kekuli that is now housed at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.. 

#3 Some Military History

On the east shore of Kalamalka Lake across from Kekuli Park is Cosens Bay which was once owned by Cornelius Cosens c. 1893. This land was used for military training during WW2 and “A trench was blasted out of steep rock face near Cosens Bay.” (Coldstream Nulli Secundus, Page 80). 

Military personnel scanning for bombs at Cosens Bay, 1973.

Image Credit: Image Courtesy: Vernon Museum and Archives- Photo No. 9933

The training was meant to simulate actual combat conditions and as a local newsletter reports “During the war amphibious assaults were practiced on Kalamalka Lake, with the ships launching from Kekuli Bay. Guns would be firing as they approached Cosens Bay.” Many UXOs (Unexploded Explosive Ordnances) have been found in this area since but military sweeps have cleared most of them. 

#4 Okanagan Rail Trail 

In 1926 the Canadian National Railway “…opened its line on the west side of Kalamalka Lake to Wood Lake and Kelowna.” (Coldstream Nulli Secundus, Page 29).  Nearly a century later the line was defunct and a new purpose was sought for the right-of-way along the western shores of this amazing lake.

Okanagan Rail Trail: PC Joe Harder 

Enter the Okanagan Rail Trail  - “…a continuous, uninterrupted corridor that connects the urban centres of the valley and provides access to many of the valley’s most scenic features.” The Rail Trail is in its finishing stages and just happens to bisect Kekuli Bay Provincial Park. The park provides an excellent entry point to the trail. 

"He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul." Psalm 23

Sources:

Kekulia Bay Provincial Park:  http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/kekuli_bay/

Kalamalka West: 
http://www4.rncan.gc.ca/search-place-names/unique/e4e1d259d05211d892e2080020a0f4c9

Coldstream Nulli Secundus by Margaret A. Ormsby

Military: http://www.kalamalkapark.ca/Know_Your_Park.html

Okanagan Rail Trail:  https://okanaganrailtrail.ca/faq

Kickwillie Loop:  https://www.castanet.net/news/Central-Okanagan/81402/Highway-construction-digs-up-history

Kekuli: https://www.lakecountrymuseum.com/indian-life-in-early-winfield/