A little story about Spes Bona

All week on February 20-26, 2023, culture and heritage organizations across the province are hosting events to celebrate Heritage Week. Later on this year, as part of our 60th-anniversary celebrations, Sorrento Centre will be welcoming our community to come learn a little more about some of the history of these beautiful 24 acres.

In the meantime, here’s a little something…

The tale told in the video is a settler’s story, which takes place on the traditional and unceded lands of the Secwépemc First Nation. Secwepemc (pronounced Se-KWEP-umk-wh) means “The People”. Early settlers had trouble pronouncing the word and chose to say “Shuswap” instead. Interestingly, the original town site of Sorrento was once called Trapper’s Landing. Early in the 1900s, James Reid Kinghorn travelled from Montreal and settled with his family on the shores of Shuswap lake to build an estate and working commercial orchard. The breathtaking view of Copper Island in Shuswap Lake reminded him of his honeymoon sighting of the Isle of Capri which he saw from Sorrento, Italy. When Mr. Kinghorn first looked out over the orchards, Shuswap Lake and Copper Island, he was reminded of Italy, the Bay of Naples and the Isle of Capri. “We shall call this town Sorrento”. The town was so named in 1912.

WATCH THIS VIDEO as Michael Shapcott tells a short story about the wealthy Kinghorn family and their beautiful homes on the shores of Shuswap Lake.

Once upon a time, a magnificent house was built for Mr. Kinghorn’s bride, Winifred, out of Douglas Fir, which they named Spes Bona. Translated from Latin, it means ‘Good Hope’. Sadly, the original home burned down and in 1927 the second Spes Bona was built in its place…