City of Merritt Thompson-Nicola Regional District, British Columbia

City - A populated place with legally defined boundaries, incorporated as a city municipality under the provincial Municipal Act. Surrounding the junction of Nicola and Coldwater Rivers, SW of Kamloops, Kamloops Division Yale Land District

Mapped Location

City of Merritt: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.

 

Information

General information on City of Merritt

  • Feature Type: Incorporated

 

Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for City of Merritt

A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named

Name Description
City of Merritt Official

 

Origin Notes and History of City of Merritt

References to City of Merritt that document the origin of its place name

Incorporated as a City 1 April 1911; Merritt (City) confirmed 7 April 1949 on 92I/SE, as labelled on BC map 2B, 1914. Re-incorporated as a Village Municipality 1 January 1958; re-incorporated as a Town Municipality 1 January 1965; re-incorporated as a City 15 December 1981; Merritt (City) re-confirmed 15 December 1981. Boundary amendment effective 31 December 1993, gazette date 27 January 1994; confirmed 13 July 1994 on 92 I/2.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office  |  Province of British Columbia

Merritt Post Office was opened 15 August 1907, W.R. Longstaff postmaster.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office  |  Province of British Columbia

Prior to 1905, Merritt was called Charters, The Forks, Forksdale and The Forks of Nicola. (Nicola Valley Historical Quarterly, Vol 2, No 4).

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
included with note  |  Province of British Columbia

Originally called "Forksdale" because of its position at the junction of the Nicola and Coldwater Rivers. Re-named Merritt in August 1906 after William Hamilton Merritt, a mining engineer from Toronto, and one of the promoters of the Nicola, Kamloops and Similkameen Coal & Railway Co. It is not clear if Merritt had actually settled in the town that would bear his name. See also the municipality's own website.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office  |  Province of British Columbia

 

Thompson-Nicola Regional District

Political Boundaries

Last updated: 2023-10-02