Welcome

The Oliver & District Heritage Society is a not-for-profit organization governed by a Board of Directors. We preserve and present the history of Oliver BC; Canada's Wine Capital, and surrounding district through exhibits, educational programming, special events, heritage walking tours, and more.

Museum

Location: 474 School Avenue, Oliver BC

Hours of Operation:

June Tues - Sat 12pm-4pm

July to Aug. Tues - Sat 10am-4pm

Sept. to May Tues - Sat 1pm-4pm

Admission by donation

Contact: 250-689-6655

The Museum houses our exhibits and collection of historic artefacts and the Archives is home to our research library and archival collection.

One Hundred X One Hundred

x̌cəcikst X x̌cəcikst Project

The year 2021 marked 100 years of the Oliver community. Oliver was established on and shaped by the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territory of the syilx Okanagan Nation, whose history stretches back 10,000 years.  

The One Hundred X One Hundred / x̌cəcikst X x̌cəcikst Project provides an opportunity to explore our roots and share wisdom to build a stronger shared community, a deeper connection to the land, and to grow our future together for generations to come.

Archives

Location: 430 Fairview Rd, Oliver BC

Hours of Operation: 

Year-Round Tues - Fri 10am-1pm

Contact: 250-689-6677

We are committed to ensuring visitor safety at all times, while COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses remain prevalent in society.

Some of our web pages are under construction, thanks for your patience.

Read our Fall/Winter LAmplighter edition

Lamplighter Fall/Winter 2023

News

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Subscribe to The Lamplighter or our email list to stay informed about exciting heritage news and events in the Oliver area.

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Fairview Townsite Heritage Management Plan

The Oliver and District Heritage Society are working towards the creation of a Heritage Management Plan. The ODHS recently signed a Heritage Services Agreement to manage the Fairview Townsite with a plan to enhance and conserve the environment, preserve the natural landscape and native plants at Fairview. The plan also includes improved public education and interpretation of the stories of indigenous Peoples, mining and ranching that took place in the area.

Events

ODHS Annual general Meeting

The Oliver and District Heritage Society will hold its 44th Annual General Meeting!

When: Wednesday June 5th, 2024

Where: The Quails Nest Arts Centre, at 5840 Airport Road, Oliver, V0H1T0

Time: 7pm

All persons interested are warmly invited to attend, and all members in attendance may vote. Memberships will be available on the night.

Anyone wishing to stand for election to our Board may do so, and may contact us in advance for details.

Hard copies of the Agenda, previous AGM Minutes, Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2023 will be available at the AGM, or can be obtained free of charge stopping by the ODHS Archives Building at 430 Fairview Road, Oliver, V0H1T0, writing to us, or calling 250-689-6677 or emailing us at info@oliverheritage.ca.

We are excited to announce that attendees at the AGM will hear a fascinating address from long-time Oliver resident Arvid Bensler, a former employee of the South Okanagan Lands Irrigation District and Town of Oliver, on the topic of the history of the Irrigation Canal or ‘’The Ditch.’’

Donations

Artefact and Archival

 The ODHS accepts artefact and archival donations related to our mandate and collecting area that allow us to interpret the history of Oliver and surrounding regions. We are always grateful when people consider donating material to the Museum and Archives.

 Please keep in mind the following before you donate an item.

 The ODHS follows a Collections Policy (you can read more by clicking this link) and artefacts or archival material must fit within our policy. A few central points in our policy are listed below.

 a) We have limited storage facilities and cannot take everything we are offered, owing to conservation issues and the need to protect our existing collection.

 b) The ODHS implements top quality museum and archival industry standards when it comes to storage and preservation of our collection. By only accepting artefacts and archival material that relate to our mandate, we can better allocate resources to ensure quality preservation.

 c) The ODHS collection defines the Society and influences our educational programming, exhibitions, community outreach and research library. As a result, it is important to only accept donations that meet the requirements of our Collections Policy.

 d) After a donated item is accepted into our collection, there is legal paperwork to complete and then the item is catalogued and accessioned into our collection according to the order of donations. If an item is abandoned and the legal donor cannot be located after a 90-day period, the ODHS has the right to deal with the item in any manner it deems appropriate.

 e) All items accepted into our collections are quarantined for a period. This enables us to eliminate the threat posed to our collection by pests, and allows us to inspect each item for harmful material and follow appropriate conservation standards when it comes to cleaning. Afterwards staff formally catalogue and accession the item and enter its details into our database. The item will be properly housed and stored in one of our storage rooms. The item may be brought out for an exhibit, research purposes or placed in our educational programming collection.

 f) De-accessioning :- Sometimes an item in our collection is deemed inappropriate, as it no longer fits our mandate. We de-accession objects that have been donated to us and accepted in error, in that it transpires they originate from a place outside of our geographical collecting area. Items that fall into this category do not represent the history of Oliver and surrounding regions. The ODHS may also have several duplicates of the same object in our collection, and may therefore consider de-accessioning. We have a formal policy when it comes to de-accessioning, and we are always transparent in this process. Upon donating an item to the ODHS, there are de-accessioning options in the paperwork we give to the donor and they can select what they want to occur.

 g) Re-patriation- The ODHS fully supports initiatives to re-patriate objects connected to cultural, ethnic, or religious groups. In 2021 we signed the BC Museum Association’s Re-patriation Call to Action. The ODHS Collections Policy states that we do not accept human or ancestral remains, and we do not collect these items. You can read more about re-patriation in the ODHS Collections Policy here.

 Monetary Donations

 The ODHS is always very grateful to receive monetary donations. Giving to the ODHS helps us maintain our artefact and archival collection, provide educational programming, events and outreach work, research and exhibitions. For donations of $20 or more we will provide you with a tax receipt.