Oliver (British Columbia)

Oliver is a small town ( Town) in the southern part of the Interior Plateau, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The municipality is situated approximately 20 kilometers north of Osoyoos and around 40 kilometers south of Penticton and belongs to the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen -. The village is located on the Okanogan River at the southern end of the Okanagan Valley. The Okanagan Valley is relatively narrow here. The mountains lie east and west of the community. Tourist town is advertised as the wine capital of Canada.

History

Originally the land was inhabited by the First Nations, so the story goes back further than that dominated by European immigrants historiography. In the area around present-day Oliver lived and live mainly by the people of the Okanagan, but also others such as the Sinkaietk.

The "European" part of history in this region begins around the year 1810. Those days the river the first fur traders from Fort Okanogan came northward. The fur traders were more or less the only Europeans in the area for the next 50 to 60 years. The only changed with the onset of the gold rush in the province. 1887 stuck here too, the first prospectors staking their claims to search for gold from. The discovery of gold then gave rise to the town of Fairview. However, the town consisted of only a few years, although it during the Gold Rush had many inhabitants. With the end of the gold rush this subject, however, almost all away again.

Today's small town originated as settled here 1918-1921 more and more people. Was facilitated by the establishment of the South Okanagan Lands Project. With this construction project to irrigate the landscape was from 1919 continued and new farmland created. The resulting town was named after John Oliver, who at the time was the increase settlement after the First World War, Prime Minister of the Province of British Columbia and began very much for the promotion of agriculture.

With the new residents, the settlement received on May 1, 1921 then also a post office. However, most of the new settlers were no longer fur traders or prospectors, but Farmer. Soon, tomato, tobacco, and cantaloupe were exported from here. This was favored as the platelayers the Kettle Valley Railroad reached the area of the present town. With the railway and connected so that the possibility to transport products quickly in the cities the area for settlers was more interesting. Agriculture still dominates the area. By 1980, however, changed the range of cultivated products. Today preferred wine is grown.

Demography

The last census in 2011 showed a population of 4,824 inhabitants for the community. The population of the municipality has thereby increased from 2006 by 9.8 % compared to the census and thus is slightly above the trend for the average of the entire Province of British Columbia, where the population grew by 7.0% at the same time. With an average age of 56.3 years, the population here is, however, also significantly older than in the rest of the province, with an average age of 41.9 years there.

Education

Oliver is one of School District # 53 Okanagan Similkameen. In the small town there are several schools, including two elementary school and a secondary school.

Policy

The granting of local self-government for the settlement took place on October 6, 1936 (incorporated as the Town). Over time, changed the status of the settlement several times and since 1 January 1991 the municipality regain the status of a city ( Town).

Mayor of the municipality is Ron Hovanes. Together with four other citizens, it forms for three years the Council ( council) of the city.

Economy

2006 were, in terms of number of employees, the most important economic sectors: agriculture and wine industry as well as the economic activities in the area of tourism.

The average income (median income ) of employees from Oliver in 2005 was of below-average C $ 21,147, while it was at the same time the average for the entire province of British Columbia 24 867 C $. The difference in earnings between men ( C $ 26,289 ) and women ( C $ 17,178 ) is located in Oliver about the province average ( ⌀ - men = 31 598 C $, ⌀ - women = 19 997 C $).

Climate

The average precipitation is 327.5 mm per year. The month of October is the driest, and the months of May and June are the wettest months of the year. However protrude only these months out of the otherwise relatively uniform distribution of precipitation. In July and August, the average temperature varies usually 13-29 ° C in December and January -5 to 1 ° C. The highest measured temperature in recent decades was 42.8 ° C and the lowest -30.6 ° C.

Traffic

Oliver is located on Highway 97, which crosses the area in a north-south direction.

On the southern edge of the small town is the local airfield (IATA: -, ICAO: -, Transport Canada Identifier: CAU3 ). The airport has just one paved runway and landing strip with a length of 975 meters.

The city is not connected to the railway network, although some places still running rails through the community. As far as still existing include these rails to a former route of the historic Kettle Valley Railroad.

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