An arsonist-turned-philanthropist, Kelowna's first doctor, and the park that defines the north end
Knox Mountain — the defining feature of Kelowna North — takes its name from Arthur Booth Knox, a Scottish immigrant who acquired a cattle range on the mountain via Crown grant in 1874. Knox's story is one of the more colourful in Kelowna's early history: he was convicted of arson for setting fire to haystacks belonging to a rival rancher named Tom Ellis of Penticton, and served three years of hard labour for the offence. Apparently changed by imprisonment, Knox worked deliberately to rehabilitate his reputation after his release, and the land eventually passed through several owners before coming to Dr. Benjamin de Furlong Boyce — Kelowna's first physician — who purchased the 190-acre mountain parcel in 1912. In 1939, Dr. Boyce donated the land to the City of Kelowna for $1, creating what became Knox Mountain Park — one of the most important and popular natural parks in the entire BC Interior. The residential streets that developed at the mountain's base and along the north waterfront were among Kelowna's first — character homes built between the 1910s and 1940s that still define much of the neighbourhood's streetscape today. For much of the 20th century, Kelowna North was also home to significant industrial uses: the Tolko Mill site and the BC Tree Fruits facility at the neighbourhood's southern edge employed generations of Kelowna workers and gave the north end its working-class identity. Both of those sites are now slated for major residential and mixed-use redevelopment — the latest chapter in a neighbourhood that has been transforming steadily since the Brewery District took hold on Clement Avenue and buyers discovered that character homes a five-minute walk from downtown Kelowna were underpriced. The mountain that carries an arsonist's name now draws hikers, mountain bikers, and paddleboarders launching from Apex Beach — and the streets below it are among the most sought-after in the city.
It's named after Arthur Booth Knox, a Scottish immigrant who acquired the land via Crown grant in 1874 — and who was later convicted of arson against a rival rancher. Dr. Benjamin de Furlong Boyce, Kelowna's first physician, bought the 190-acre parcel in 1912 and donated it to the city for $1 in 1939, creating the park.
Many of the character homes near Knox Mountain and the north waterfront date from the 1910s through the 1940s, among the oldest residential streets in Kelowna. The neighbourhood also has newer infill development mixed throughout, especially closer to the Brewery District.
Both former industrial sites at the neighbourhood's southern edge are slated for major residential and mixed-use redevelopment — the latest chapter in Kelowna North's shift from a working-class industrial area to one of the city's more sought-after addresses.
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