GC318RH Gellatly Nut Farm (Traditional Cache) in British Columbia, Canada created by JeepApex

GC318RH ▼

A cache by JeepApex Message this owner

Hidden : 7/31/2011

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

The Gellatly Nut Farm is a throw back to the early pioneer days. In the park is a restored barn, log home and some out buildings. Throughout the park are a series of short walking trails exploring amongst trees, history and flower gardens. The walking trails are easy grade and wheelchair accessible. There is a nice kids playground nearby for the kids. Open Dawn til Dusk. Congratulations to Imshufflin for FTF!

History: David Erskine Gellatly, his wife Eliza, and their eldest son David Jr. emigrated from Scotland to Ontario in 1883. They spent ten years in Ontario before heading west. They first settled at Shorts Point (now known as Fintry). In 1900 they purchased 320 acres at what is now known as Gellatly Point. The family laboriously cleared the land by hand and began planting crops. In 1910 David Sr. bought an additional 350 acres at Boucherie Flats. His farm was prospering and the family venture now included the largest greenhouse in the interior, a box factory, packing house, and a wharf for dispatch of produce by boat. The wharf was used by lake traffic, including the sternwheelers Aberdeen, Okanagan, and Sicamous. It was known as Gellatly Landing and had its own post office for twenty-three years beginning in 1903. In 1905 David Sr. divided off two – ten acre parcels for his two eldest sons. David Jr. began testing nuts suitable for cultivation in Canada. In 1920 his brother John (known as Jack), joined him and began experimenting with nut growing. His objective was to develop cultivars that combined high quality kernels with tree and bud hardiness. The Gellatly Nut Farm became the cradle of hardy nut growing and breeding in North America. Jack developed a delicious candy from ground nuts and honey. He creamed his tea with finely ground filberts. He also worked with syrup made from the condensed sap of walnut trees. Although similar to maple syrup, it had a somewhat bitter taste. Jack died in 1969 and operations fell to his brother Bill who did his best to keep it up for many years. In 1998 a developer made an offer to purchase the ten acre nut farm property to convert it to a lakeside condo resort complete with marina. Nearby residents petitioned the Regional District of Central Okanagan to halt the rezoning application and convinced the Regional District to purchase the property to preserve it as a park. This group of residents formed the Gellatly Nut Farm Society (GNFS). The park opened to the public in September 2005. The farm is a work in progress with ambitious plans underway to preserve, stabilize, restore, renovate, and rehabilitate the heritage buildings. The GNFS’s role is that of advisory/fundraising duties as well as managing the annual nut harvest which runs from mid August to mid November depending on the current year’s growing conditions. 100% of proceeds from nut and seedling sales help support our plans for the protection of the historic Gellatly Nut Farm. The Gellatly Nut Farm is significant within the region as the last remnant of a pioneer enterprise that was the mainstay of the historic community at Gellatly Point, which played an important role in shaping the farming patterns of the entire Okanagan Valley.