The History of Lumby - The First Settlers

The gold fever in British Columbia in the early 1860's brought men seeking an instant fortune. Some made a fortune. Others made and quickly squandered their riches. Some were disappointed and disappeared. Some realised the real potential was in the lush valleys of the Okanagan Valley. They became the first settlers.

One of them was Louis Christien who together with William Peon, was one of the so-called discoverers of gold in Cherry Creek. It is both possible and probable that Louis Christien was the first white resident of the Lumby area who would see the future potential for development as an agricultural community.

He was born in St. Anicet, a little village in Quebec just south of Montreal, as were many of the early settlers of this area. Anyone who has visited the lovely little village along the banks of the St. Francois River would wonder why anyone would want to leave such a beautiful spot. The answer lies in the French Canadian custom of dividing the land among the sons as they reach manhood. After several generations the land will not stand further subdivision and the young men had to look further afield for their livelihood. But once one of the relatives had found Lumby, many seemed to follow. Perhaps because the land was good or perhaps because the "family" was so important to them that they stuck together. There were the Bessettes, Quesnels, Deschamps, LeBlancs and just about anybody with a French name in Lumby in those days was related either by blood or by marriage.