More than 8,000 people are proud to call themselves Merrittonians. But how many know how the city of Merritt got its name?

Merritt was originally known as Forksdale, but the name was changed in 1906 to honour Lieutenant-Colonel William Hamilton Merritt III, a mining engineer, railway promoter and a soldier. William Hamilton Merritt III was born in St. Catharines, Ontario in 1855.

He attended various schools in Toronto before continuing his education at Clifton College, England and the Royal School of Mines of London, England. After graduating, Merritt soon became known as one of the leading mining engineers in North America.

He was elected to vice-president of the Ontario Mining Institute and published books and pamphlets on both precious metals and mineral resources in Ontario.

Merritt’s military career began at the Royal Military School in Kingston, Ontario. He became a lieutenant-colonel in 1903 and served in the Boer War, in South Africa. Due to his commitment in the war, Merritt was made an honorary member by the Calvary Club in London, England.

While not able to serve in the military during the Second World War, Merritt worked towards creating an aviation school to train pilots for the war.

William Merritt made significant contributions to the Nicola Valley. As early as 1891, he prospected for coal in the area.

Although not the first to explore the potential of coal in the Valley, he did have the expertise and finances to encourage and help make the development of the coal fields and a railway become a reality.

Because there were not yet any mines in the area, the Canadian Pacific Railway had few options for locations to obtain coal, buying most of their supplies from mines in Vancouver Island and Alberta.

At that point, the deposits in the Nicola Valley had not been very well investigated and there was no effective method of transporting it out of the valley. The existing railway only came as near as Spences Bridge on its way from Kamloops to Hope and beyond.

One thing could not happen without the other.

With a fairly low population in the valley and only a hint of coal mining in the future, the railway could not be developed without substantial industrial coal mining.

The citizens of the region were eager to have a railway built into the valley. Therefore, charters were granted to two companies in 1891. One company obtained a charter to build a railway from Spences Bridge to Nicola.

The second company, organized by Merritt and many others, was granted the charter to build from Kamloops to connect to Osoyoos and Princeton by way of the Nicola Valley.

Unfortunately, due to the fact that only a few people recognized the potential of coal mining in the valley as well as widespread financial troubles, the charters were disbanded.

There were only three remaining members who were determined to continue the project and one of those men was William Merritt.

In 1903, he pursued and was granted a renewal of the original charter of the railway line and a charter to build a line from Spences Bridge to Nicola. His patience and confidence in the value of Nicola Valley coal finally paid off!

Soon, the CPR’s interest in the project was peaked in 1905 when a lockout at the Vancouver Island mines cut off a great deal of its coal supply.

Merritt was able to sell the charter after several offers by the CPR, which quickly grew in terms of dollars as the company became more and more desperate for coal.

So Forksdale, or ‘The Forks’ as the locals often called it, became Merritt. The name was chosen by Lord Shaughnessy, the president of CPR, to honour William Hamilton Merritt III.

Though not from the area, he had invested and risked much of his finances in prospecting and promoting the railway.

Much of his work benefited the community quickly and noticeably until it became the vibrant, thriving city it is today.

For more information on the history of Merritt and the Nicola Valley, call or come and visit the Nicola Valley Museum and Archives, 1675 Tutill Court, (250)-378-4145. You can also visit our website at www.nicolavalleymuseum.org.