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Today Guisachan House serves as a restaurant. Guisachan Heritage Park is located at 1060 Cameron Avenue in Kelowna.
The Cameron family purchased the Guisachan property in 1903 and operated a dairy farm. Paddy and Elaine Cameron lived on the property for 81 years. Guisachan Ranch was an important part of Kelowna’s social and cultural life for many years and was noted for its gymkhana and equestrian events. The gardens have been resurrected with the planting of more than a 100 roses, and 50 species of trees and shrubs, some 100 different perennials as well as dozens of herbs and annuals.
Today
The namesake of Lady Ishbel Aberdeen, wife of Lord Aberdeen, Governor General of Canada from 1893-1896, was developed in her honour by nurseryman John Galbally at Kew Gardens in Eastbourne, Sussex, England. Galbally was the plant breeder for the Royal Horticultural Society in London. The Lady Aberdeen Dianthus is registered by the society in London and the Central Okanagan Heritage Society has exclusive rights to the Lady Aberdeen and its sale. This close cousin to the carnation has a clove-like fragrance to its blooms. The dianthus is now part of the Cameron Gardens and its pink and maroon ruffled head can be seen poking out in several places in the park. Ask our gardener to point it out to you on your next visit.
When the Aberdeens visited the ranch for the first time in 1891, Lady Aberdeen wrote in her journal; “…….many
tales
of
the
wild With
the
growth
in
Kelowna
in
the
1980s,
the
McDougall
house
was
found
to
be
in
the
middle
of
a
piece
of
land
which
was
to
be
developed
into
Gordon
Road.
The
square
cut
timber
house
was
taken
apart,
each
log
numbered,
and
put
back
together
on
a
new
foundation
at
its
present
location
in
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Guisachan
House
was
built
as
a
summer
home
for
the
Earl
and
Countess
of
Aberdeen
in
1891.
Guisachan
–
Land
of
the
Firs
–
was
the
name
chosen
for
their
new
home.
The
new
Canadian
estate
drew
its
name
from
a
family
estate
in
Inverness-shire
Scotland.
Designed
in
the
Indian
colonial
bungalow
style
it
became
the
focal
point
of
a
480
acre
working
ranch.
The
ranch
became
the
site
of
the
first
large-scale
planting
of
fruit
trees
and
hops
in
the
Okanagan
valley.
The
Aberdeens
developed
and
invested
in
their
adopted
country
and
encouraged
many
of
their
English
countrymen
to
settle
in
the
Okanagan.
Lord
Aberdeen
served
as
Governor
General
of
Canada
from
1893
–
1896.
In
1986,
Guisachan
became
a
Kelowna
City
Park.
The
restoration
of
the
house
was
undertaken
by
the
Central
Okanagan
Heritage
Society,
in
conjunction
with
the
City
of
Kelowna,
in
1987.
The
2.5
acre
Edwardian
gardens,
established
by
Elaine
Cameron,
have
been
restored
to
their
1920s
splendor,
based
on
information
provided
in
Mrs.
Cameron’s
journals
and
photographs.
The
Park,
besides
its
beauty,
has
an
aura
of
mystery.
It
is
said
that
on
nights
when
the
moon
is
full,
the
clip-clop,
clip-clop
of
horse’s
hooves
and
the
sound
of
buggy
wheels
may
be
he
ard
echoing through
the
avenue
of
hundred
year
old
cedar
trees
which
adjoins
the
Park.
The
Milk
Shed
was
built
by
the
Cameron
Family
as
part
of
their
dairy
operations.
The
Milk
Shed
is
currently
the
office
for
the
Central
Okanagan
Heritage
Society,
as
well
as
an
exhibition
site
for
historical
pieces
from
the
Aberdeen
and
Cameron
families.
John
McDougall,
the
patriarch
of
a
large
First
Nations
family,
built
the
house
in
1886.
It
was
the
third
home
built,
and
the
finest
one
on
the
Guisachan
site,
when
the
Aberdeens
bought
the
ranch
in
1891.
doings
of
these
McDougalls
were
told
to
us.
A
testimony
to
the
truth
of
some
of
these
was
to
be
seen
in
the
marks
of
the
pistol
shots
with
which
the
walls
and
ceiling
of
the
house
were
riddled.”