Sproul family was Rutland pioneer
This fall, a series of news articles documented a fire that damaged one of Rutland’s oldest homes. On Oct. 23, one news source reported:
“When a Rutland home went up in flames under suspicious circumstances Sunday night, the community lamented a loss of history. The home, after all, was listed on the City of Kelowna’s heritage registry with a rich history related to its association with early and prominent families of Rutland.”
The heritage registry’s statement of significance says the “Sproul House” at 180 Highway 33 E. was built in 1906 for Sam Sproul, an early resident of Rutland.
Kelowna’s Heritage Registry provides information about the Sproul family owners of the house, which burned on Oct. 18:
“The Sproul brothers, Samuel and Bob, illustrate how pioneers converged on the Okanagan in the years around 1900. They came to the Black Mountain area from the United States [sic] with the covered wagon group about 1893 [sic]. Typical of the early development of the neighbourhood, in late 1904 they bought part of the young orchard of John Matthew Rutland, on the lower portion of what is now Rutland.”
Yet, contrary to Kelowna’s Heritage Registry, Samuel and Robert Sproul did not arrive in the Okanagan. The 1893 American settlers included six families — McClure, Brown, Clarke, Drennan, Rice, and Prather — but not the Sproul family.
The Sproul family came from Saskatchewan. About 1890, the Sprouls moved west, to what is now Saskatchewan, settling near Oxbow. About 1900, they came to the Okanagan. Sam Sproul and family were enumerated in the 1901 Canada Census at Peachland. In 1904, the Sprouls settled in what is now Rutland.
There were, in fact, three local Sproul households:
Robert and Rachel (nee McBride) Sproul: parents of Samuel and Robert Sproul;
Samuel Sproul: born at Orangeville, Ontario on May 23, 1861. On February 28, 1888, in Sydenham Township, Ontario, he married Anna Rowena Dodds.
They had three children: Pearl Ruth, born in Saskatchewan in 1890; died in 1929;
Lorne Samuel: born in Saskatchewan in 1892; died at San Francisco in 1939;
Francis Robert: born at Vernon in 1900; died in Georgia, U.S.A., in 1978.
Robert John (Bob) Sproul was born at Armaranth, Ontario, on December 22, 1862.
He married Margaret Amanda Nixon. They had two children. Lillian Rachael was born in Saskatchewan in 1898. In 1929, she married William Ryder Ernest Dudgeon. She died in the Provincial Hospital at Essondale, B.C., on February 16, 1946;
Evelyn Mae: born in the Okanagan in 1904; died at Rutland on March 18, 1920
Information about the Sproul brothers is on page 48 of Art Gray’s article “Black Mountain Settlement,” in the Okanagan Historical Society’s 26th Report:
“Bob Sproul ... did not apparently, go in for homesteading, for early in the (twentieth) century, we find that he and his brother Sam
went into the orchard business, immediately north of John McClure’s place, and each of them built substantial homes, which are still in use today [1962].”
The 1911 Canada Census lists two Sproul families – Samuel and Anna and their three children, and Robert John and Margaret and their two children – living in Rutland, where Samuel and Robert had orchards. Three Sproul children – Francis Robert, Lillian Rachael, and Evelyn Mae – attended school in Rutland, where Samuel Sproul served as School Trustee.
When the Sproul brothers moved to the Okanagan, their parents — Robert and Rachel (nee McBride) Sproul — came with them, living at nearby Kelowna.
Robert and Rachel remained in the Central Okanagan until about 1910, having lived locally for about five years. Rachel Sproul died at Victoria, B.C., on November 27, 1912 at the age of 76 years. Her death was reported on page one of the November 28, 1912, edition of the Kelowna Orchard City Record.
Robert Sproul Sr. remained in Victoria, where he died on May 22, 1918, at the age of 83 years. Notice of his death is on page one of the May 30, 1918 edition of The Kelowna Record:
“He [Robert Sproul] was one of the first workers on the Grand Trunk railway. He came to Kelowna about twelve or thirteen years ago, after a period of nearly twelve years on the prairie. His wife died about four years ago.
Samuel and Anna Sproul did not long live in Rutland district. In July 1912, they moved to the United States, settling in California and applying for American citizenship on September 20, 1926. Anna (nee Dodds) Sproul died at San Diego on March 26, 1936, at the age of 74 years.
Samuel Sproul returned to Canada and died at Sandwick (Courtney), B.C., on April 1, 1940
at the age of 78 years. He was predeceased by his wife and two of their three children.
Although Samuel Sproul lived in the Central Okanagan for less than ten years, he was wellknown locally for his fruit growing endeavours, his attempts to establish a fruit co-operative, and his efforts in 1908 to bring triweekly postal service to Rutland.
Robert Sproul and family remained in Rutland. Ill health caused Robert to relocate to Victoria, where he died on August 11, 1920, at the age of 57 years. His passing was recorded on page one of the August 19, 1920 edition of the Kelowna Record:
“An old resident of the Rutland district passed away at Victoria last Wednesday in the person of Robert J. Sproule [Sproul], who had been suffering for some time from persistent anaemia. His illness had reached such a critical stage last November that he was removed to the coast, spending several months there. ... Mr. Sproule came with his family to Rutland some fifteen years ago from Saskatchewan, taking a place near the Rutland store and alongside his brother Sam. This is the second death in the family this year, a daughter Evelyn, having died during the flu epidemic in February [March 18, 1920].”
Three generations of the Sproul family lived in the Okanagan in the early twentieth century. The Sproul surname has disappeared locally and these pioneers have not been given their rightful place in our history.
It is unfortunate the partial destruction of an old house in Rutland reminded us of the roles which the Sproul family played in our history.
The author gratefully acknowledges and thanks Reg Volk for his assistance with this article. This article is part of a series, submitted by the Kelowna Branch, Okanagan Historical Society. Additional information is always welcome at P.O Box 22105 Capri P.O., Kelowna, BC, V1Y 9N9.