Penticton - Community Overview

Penticton was incorporated in 1948. The First Nation tribes originally called it “Phthauntac” (the ideal meeting place), but later changed it to “Pen-tah-tim” (a place to live forever). One of the first visitors to the area was in 1811 by Scotsman David Stuart (fur trader and author), who wrote several books about the area.

The area was first settled in 1860 and the first orchards began to appear in the early 1890s. In 1905 the Southern Okanagan Land Co. began to provide irrigation to the area.

Transportation via rail had been in place since 1892, but the area began to flourish when the Kettle Valley Railway linked the town to Crowsnest Pass and Hope by 1915.

Today, Penticton is a regional service centre for the area. The economy is based on three main areas, manufacturing, agriculture and tourism. With the mild climate in Penticton, tree fruit and vegetables are important elements in the agriculture aspect, along with forestry. Grape growing is becoming very popular as the wine industry continues to flourish. Penticton is also a well known four-season tourist destination.

The City of Penticton is nestled between the Okanagan and Skaha Lakes in the Okanagan Valley in south central British Columbia. Penticton is located on Highway #97, approximately 380 km east of Vancouver and 40 km south of Kelowna.

The population of Penticton numbers approximately 37,721.

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