Summerland museum shares the story of giant boulder that was buried after concerns rose it would roll into town

Giant boulder was buried

Photo: Summerland Museum & Archives Society

A black and white photograph shows an enormous boulder in Summerland, which was later buried after the town became worried it would roll down

The Summerland Museum & Archives Society shared a story about an iconic landmark rock that was buried in the 1970s, after the museum's geology lecture inspired them for their weekly local history throwback.

According to the museum, the photograph of the group on top of the "Big Rock", was taken by George Williams in 1907 and depicts Mrs. Lily Williams (nee Garnett), Mr. & Mrs. Teddy Taylor, Mr. & Mrs. Harry Glennie, and Edna Garnett sitting on top of the Big Rock.

"The Big Rock was located halfway up the northern slope of Giants Head mountain, near the student residences. It was an iconic landmark and became a popular spot for photographs," they wrote in their post.

The rock was glacially deposited rock, different from the native rock of the area.

The museum said Geologists have estimated that during the last ice age, ice in the Okanagan Valley was three km thick.

"As the ice moved, it would scrape up boulders and sometimes move them a considerable distance. As the ice melted the erratic would be deposited in its new location."

Though the rock was popular among locals, in the mid-1970s, the concerns were that the Big Rock may actually roll into town.

It was decided that the Big Rock would be buried to prevent this from happening. The location of the ‘burial’ is close to the heritage sign at the top of Milne Road.

The Summerland Museum & Archives Society shares photos and information from their archives every week for throwback Thursday on their social media, which can be found online here.