Brent, Frederick

As a young man, he immigrated to the United States, where his name was changed to Brent by a customs official.

In 1854, at Fort Munroe, he enlisted in the United States Army, and by the following year he was living in the Washington Territory. On the "Returns from U.S. Military posts 1800-1916" at the Washington State Library, Corp. Frederick Brent is listed as an enlisted man "casually at post" in September 30, 1856. After his discharge he came to Canada.

He bought out the Parsons Brothers who lived at the south end of Duck Lake.

He settled in the Okanagan Valley in 1865.

He built a water powered grain grinder mill but sold the property to George W. Simpson and then purchased the farm of August Calmels in 1870.

He had the contract to carry mail from Okanagan Mission to Penticton. Brent's Grist Mill was built in 1871 by Frederick Brent, one of the earliest settlers in the Kelowna area. In addition to his home, Frederick Brent set out to construct a purpose-built grist mill of hand-hewn pine logs and whip-sawn lumber. Brent then set out to import a portable mill, complete with a set of mill stones, to bring his vision to life. Brent ordered a portable mill, a hopper and other supplies necessary to complete the mill from San Francisco. The equipment traveled by sailing ship, freight wagon, river steamer, borrowed home-made wagon, row boat, and horse drawn sledge to its new home on the Brent’s homestead. The mill was an immediate success. Settlers from up and down the lake, and local natives, brought their grain to be ground into flour. Sometimes a dozen camps would be seen set up along the creeks, waiting their turn at the mill. Often men and boys would amuse themselves by holding pony races and contests in the near-by fields.