From the 1860s through to the early 1900s the Tranquille area of Kamloops was owned and ranched mainly by two families: the Fortunes and the Cooneys. Both of these families did much to help develop the area. The Fortune ranch was sold and turned into a tuberculosis sanatorium in 1907. By the end of the first World War the government run facility needed to expand and so they bullied and manipulated the elderly, widowed Elizabeth Cooney into selling her property. Part of the sale stipulated that the Cooney cemetery would be maintained in perpetuity by the new owners. Since that time the land, including the cemetery, has changed hands several times and fallen into as state of disrepair. Within these modern business deals what role does the historic cemetery play and will it
ultimately be maintained as was originally stipulated? An exploration of the history of this property calls its future into question.
