* * *

When the KVR was built, it brought a flood of railway workers into the area. The 96 kilometer section of railway running from Penticton to Hydraulic Summit was one of the most challenging portions of the railway to construct, and almost 1000-1500 workers toiled on this section alone. In a 1970 article in the Vancouver Province, contractor John Rounds remembers the difficulty of the construction, “They tried 60 per cent dynamite, but it wouldn’t work on the granite. Then they tried 75 per cent and it wasn’t much better. In the end they used 90 per cent gelignite, which is almost straight nitro.”¹
The construction of the "Little Tunnel" took about a month, and railway workers camped nearby on the KVR right of way. The workers were camped here long enough to build some infrastructure, which still exists today. Near the tunnel one can find rock ovens, which were built by railway workers to bake their bread. While the men on the railway likely enjoyed fresh bread daily, the ovens may have served another purpose.

* * *

Robinson started Naramata from 3500 acres of land that he had purchased from the South Okanagan Land Company. Once the community was established, Robinson was tied to practically every business that appeared: the bank, post office, the Naramata Supply Company, the Naramata Hotel, and a bottling plant for seltzer water, to name only a few.
In the early days, transport to Naramata was tricky, and Robinson offered his personal steam yacht, the Rattlesnake, as a ferry service between Naramata and Summerland. By 1907, Naramata had a rough wagon road connecting it to Penticton, and a single-room schoolhouse. The community grew and Robinson began to develop more leisurely facilities. The first of these was the beautiful Naramata Hotel, which he chose to live in after it was built. This hotel was built with 17 rooms and featured cottages for rest cures, a bowling green, tennis courts, croquet grounds, a lacrosse field and a baseball diamond.
He didn't stop with the hotel, as after it was completed in 1908, he went on to build a so-called "opera house" on the top floor of the Naramata Supply Company Building. The room was actually a large meeting room, which hosted meetings, church services, concerts and plays. The Penticton Press reported on the opening, “The opera house is a handsome structure, the auditorium of which is capable of seating between 200 and 250 spectators. The stage is one of the most attractive features of the building. It is beautifully decorated with scenery and the drop curtains are certainly up to date in the mechanism of their operation. Naramata is the second youngest town in the Okanagan and the population is not large, but the fact that an opera house was deemed one of the first requirements of the new settlement goes to show that the people who intend on making their homes there purpose getting the most out of life."²
In 1908, Naramata held the first of what would become their famous Regattas. A regatta is a sporting event consisting of boat or yacht races. In Naramata, the most popular of these races were the "war canoe" races, where the winner would receive the Robinson Cup. These regattas were more than just the races however and also featured baseball games, refreshments, and performances at the Naramata Grandstand. This grandstand was built just to the south of the hotel and could seat 800 people. Sadly it burned down only a few years after it was completed.
Another early feature of Naramata was the beautiful Manitou Park. It was opened in 1935 and has been the heart of Naramata's recreation ever since.

* * *

When the system was built much of it was constructed from wood, as it was cheaper than pipe. The water was funnelled from the hills above Naramata and even as far away as a lake east of Penticton. The water travelled downhill through a system of gullies and wooden flumes until it eventually reached the thirsty orchards.
In 1913, the Naramata Irrigation Company was granted a license by the provincial government for better irrigation infrastructure and they built a dam at a landlocked lake that flooded with snow melt every spring. This dam, and the others that followed, helped immensely to irrigate the Naramata Bench.
For a couple decades, orchards thrived in Naramata. Orchardists grew apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots and cherries, many of which are still grown in Naramata today. In the 1930s, two events transpired that dealt severe blows to Naramata's fruit industry.
First was the Great Depression, when markets for Okanagan fruit evaporated practically overnight. The orchards became unprofitable, and development in Naramata slowed. During this time, one could purchase a waterfront lot in Naramata for only $10, which amounts to just a little under $200 today. Can you imagine buying waterfront property in the Okanagan for less than the cost of a new laptop? Despite the price, there were few buyers.
In addition to the financial burden of the Great Depression, orchardists were also fighting a direct assault on their fruit trees. In 1928, the provincial government decided to introduce elk in the Kettle Valley. Unfortunately, the elk escaped the control of the government when they were unloaded from the train into an enclosure so they could graze and fled into the hills near Naramata.
No one realized the impact the escaped elk would have until the following spring, when they began happily grazing on the local orchards. Desperate, the community organized an elk hunt to try and control the numbers. Unfortunately, the hunt failed to sufficiently control the population. In the following years, one very cold winter allowed the elk to walk across the lake, and they began causing issues in Summerland as well.
While there are still many orchards in Naramata today, vineyards have filled many of the former orchard lots and many award-winning wines are born on the Naramata bench.