Heritage Chats – Ken Mather
Thu, Sep 05
|Chilliwack Museum
Drovers, Buckaroos and Cowboys


Time & Location
Sep 05, 2024, 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Chilliwack Museum, 45820 Spadina Ave, Chilliwack, BC V2P 1T3, Canada
About the event
Ken’s presentation, “Drovers, Buckaroos, and Cowboys,” will share his research on the early cattle drives into the Colony of British Columbia and the Chilliwack connection.
Ken started researching Western Canadian history in 1973, as a researcher for the “1885 Street” in Fort Edmonton Park. He became the Head Researcher and went on to become the Senior Historical Interpreter for the City of Edmonton. In 1976, he became an independent consultant on heritage sites and provincial parks planning, for Alberta Parks. Three years later, he moved to British Columbia to became the Interpretation and Education Coordinator for Barkerville Historic Park and was the Curator from 1982 until 1984. He was the Manager/Curator of the Historic O’Keefe Ranch from 1984 until 2004 after which he remained as Curator until he retired in 2013.
Ken has written seven books as well as a large number of articles and research reports on ranching and related subjects in early British Columbia. Ken was recognized as the Curator Emeritus of the Historic O’Keefe Ranch in 2013 and was awarded the Joe Martin Memorial award for his contributions to B.C. Cowboy Heritage in 2015. His book, Trail North – The Okanagan Trail of 1858-68 was runner-up for the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Historical Writing in 2018. He has performed cowboy poetry and spoken on cowboy history for the past thirty years.
Ken moved to Chilliwack in the fall of 2023, but remains the editor and member of the executive council of the Okanagan Historical Society.