city, southern British Columbia, Canada. It lies in Okanagan Lake country, 274 miles (441 km) northeast of Vancouver. Pioneers called the early settlement Priest's Valley owing to a missionary outpost maintained there by Paul Durieu. It was also known as Forge Valley (for its blacksmithing) and, in 1885, as Centreville (the name of the original town site). It was renamed Vernon in 1887 after Forbes G. Vernon, who was at that time provincial commissioner of lands and works