Coutlee Thompson-Nicola Regional District, British Columbia

Locality - A named place or area, generally with a scattered population of 50 or less. N side of Nicola River, just NW of Merritt, Kamloops Division Yale Land District

Mapped Location

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

 

Information

General information on Coutlee

  • Feature Type: Place

 

Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Coutlee

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

Name Description
Coutlee Official

 

Origin Notes and History of Coutlee

References to Coutlee that document the origin of its place name

"Coutlee, not Coutlie" (plateau, railway station and town) adopted in 12th Report of the Geographic Board of Canada, 30 June 1913, and labelled on BC Lands' map 2B, 1914. Form of name changed to Coutlee (railway station) 7 April 1949 on 92 I/SE; further changed to Coutlee (Locality) 14 May 1982.

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

Had been spelled "Coutlie" on Geological Survey of Canada's 1887 map of a portion of the Southern Interior of British Columbia, from 1877 surveys by Dawson and 1882-4 surveys by Bowman; and on Dominion sectional sheet 33, Yale, 1912.

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

Coutlee Post Office opened 1 April 1885 on a portion of Lot 127; closed 1 September 1917.

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

After Alexander Coutlee, rancher, store keeper and hotelier. Old BC name card indicates that Coulee [sic] was born in France (date not specified); held a pre-emption at Boston Bar Village, dated 23 March 1863; settled in the Nicola valley in 1873; died in 1900. However Vital Statistics Branch advised 10 May 1982 that Coutlie [sic] was born at Trois Rivieres in 1826 and died 6 January 1901. Note that pre-emption record for Lot 127, 29 September 1873, identifies "Alexander Coutlie". Crown Grant 791/4, 28 November 1877, uses the same spelling. No record of his signature in BC place names files.

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

"In 1872 Alexander Coutlee had settled on Lot 30 at Boston Bar, and on September 29, 1873 Coutlee pre-empted Lot 127, which was later known as Coutlee's." (The Nicola Valley in Review, vol 1, Merritt, 1858, p.45) "Coutlee died in January of 1901." (Merritt Herald, 4 September 1952)

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
Provincial Archives of BC "Place Names File" compiled 1945-1950 by A.G. Harvey from various sources, with subsequent additions  |  Province of British Columbia

"It has been suggested that the correct French spelling may be Coutlée, [but] since there were no accents in English print (Alexander) Coutlie may have changed the first "e" to an "i". When the post office opened, it was given the name Coutlee, and that spelling was established. The 2nd generation of Alexander's descendents have all adopted this spelling, as have the descendents of Alexander's brothers in Eastern Canada..." (excerpt from Nicola Valley Historical Quarterly Vol 2, No 4). See also Nicola Valley Historical Quarterly Vol 6, No 2 & 3, October 1983, which deals exclusively with Alexander Coutlie and his descendents, including photographs.

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