John Moore Robinson, (born in Hustonville, Wellington County,

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

in December 1855 – died February 23, 1934) was a

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

, rancher,

prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * '' Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

orchardist An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...

who helped shape

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Okanagan Valley The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part ...

region through, among other things, the establishment of such communities as

Naramata Naramata is an unincorporated community in the Okanagan region of south central British Columbia. On the eastern shore of southern Lake Okanagan, the locality is by road about north of Penticton. Name origin In November 1906, John Moore Robinso ...

, Summerland, and

Peachland Peachland is a district municipality in the Okanagan Valley on the west side of Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, Canada. It was founded in 1899 by John Moore Robinson, although the region had long been home to the Okanagan people. Peachland is ...

Biography

Education and early career

The son of William Robinson, an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

-born merchant, and Maria Moore, he was educated in Hustonville, in

Lockport, New York Lockport is both a city and the Lockport (town), New York, town that surrounds it in Niagara County, New York, Niagara County, New York (state), New York. The city is the Niagara county seat, with a population of 21,165 according to 2010 census ...

and in St. Catharines, Ontario. He taught school for four years in Ontario, and then, in 1879, he moved to Manitoba, where he taught in

Woodlands Woodlands may back refer to: * Woodland, a low-density forest Geography Australia * Woodlands, New South Wales * Woodlands, Ashgrove, Queensland, a heritage-listed house associated with John Henry Pepper * Woodlands, Marburg, Queensland, a her ...

for two more years. In 1882, Robinson married Eliza Lipsett. He was the editor and publisher of the ''Brandon Times'', the ''Portage la Prairie Tribune'' and the ''Portage la Prairie Review''. Robinson also served as clerk for Woodlands and for

Portage la Prairie Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. As of 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area of the city was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

. He was later employed in the real estate business in Portage la Prairie. He was elected to the Manitoba assembly for the

constituency in 1886 as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

. Robinson was defeated when he ran for reelection in 1888.

Work in British Columbia

Robinson arrived in the Okanagan Valley from

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

in 1897 as a prospector. Inspired by early local ranchers such as

John Carmichael Haynes John Carmichael Haynes (July 6, 1831 – July 6, 1888) was an Irish-born rancher, judge and public servant in British Columbia. He was born in Landscape, County Cork, the son of Jonas Haynes and Hester Carmichael, and came to Victoria, British ...

and James and Fred Gartrell, Robinson purchased a ranch, which he renamed "Peachland", and took up selling parcels of arable land for the establishment of orchards. Unlike other ranchers of the time, who grew but a few fruit trees on their property to serve the family and workmen, the Gartrells harvested some of their fruit for sale, and expanding on this concept with dedicated orchards, Robinson is credited with founding the soft fruit industry. After establishing the town of Peachland in 1899, Robinson founded Summerland, south of Peachland, in 1902, under the patronage of then-

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...

president, Sir Thomas Shaughnessy. In 1907, Robinson founded the hillside town of Naramata. Upon incorporating the Peachland Townsite and Irrigation Company in 1899, Robinson implemented a new water management system, laying out creek-fed irrigation to supply of orchard, which he had subdivided into lots. Robinson employed the same land development formula in Summerland and Naramata, encouraging other land development companies to follow in his footsteps, heralding a new era of corporate land management and irrigation. He died in Naramata at the age of 78.

References

External links

Heritage BC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson Members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba Settlers of Canada Canadian prospectors 1855 births 1934 deaths Canadian orchardists

Biography

Education and early career

Work in British Columbia

See also

References

External links