Photo: Contributed

A home in Rutland that went up in flames Sunday night under suspicious circumstances was more than 100 years old and had a place on the Kelowna heritage registry. 

Known as the Sproul Farm House, the home was built in 1906 and is one of the few residences remaining in the area from the early rural period. 

The building was associated with the Sproul family, who were among the early pioneers and orchardists of the Rutland area, and with Enoch Mugford, who was very important in the formation and operation of the Black Mountain Irrigation District.

“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 with the 'covered wagon' group about 1893. 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, towards Highway 97,” says the City of Kelowna’s heritage registry.

“In 1911, at the height of the orchard boom, Sam Sproul sold his orchard and residence on the lower Rutland bench and proceeded to develop his 80 acres of raw land on the upper Rutland bench, on which this house stands.”

The house was built in 1906 for Sproul and sold to Enoch Mugford in 1914, who came to the area from Vancouver and would serve overseas in World War I.

On his return he helped set up the Black Mountain Irrigation District in 1920, serving as an original trustee, in an effort to improve the inadequate supply of water for the farmers and orchardists in the Rutland area. He would go on to become superintendent of the district. The Mugfords resided in this house until Enoch Mugford's death in 1969. 

The condition of the home has deteriorated significantly in recent years.

The home and neighbouring lot have been slated for redevelopment for some time now, with a proposal currently before the city that would see a mixed-use project retain the facade of the home and integrate it into the project.

Sproul house is the latest piece of Kelowna history to go up in flames in recent years. Kelowna’s historic Fleming Farmhouse burned twice in April and in 2018.

The Kelowna Fire Department says the Sproul house sustained "major" damage in Sunday night's fire. It is not yet known if any part of it can be salvaged.

Photo: City of Kelowna

The Sproul Farm House was proposed to be integrated into a mixed-use development planned for the site