Historic Nicola Ranch BC

Upper Nicola - Murray United Church Rainbow - September 27, 2006.

MURRAY UNITED CHURCH UPPER NICOLA B.C. In 1875 the Church of Scotland sent Reverend George Murray of Glasgow Scotland to Minister East of the Cascades. He landed in the Nicola Valley and in1876 was instrumental in building the first Protestant church in the interior. Murray's parish extended from Nicola to Yale and as far North as Quesnel. This gruelling 600 - mile circuit took its toll and he returned to Scotland for nine years. British Columbia seemed to be calling him and he returned to Nicola in 1889 and served his parishioners until his retirement in 1901 but the Murray United Church still stands in his memory.

Initially discovered by pioneers searching for a route between the Coast and the Interior, the valley was used as a brigade trail by the 1850s. What they discovered here was a vast expanse of grasslands where livestock could roam. The ensuing settlement originated at the meeting of the Nicola and Coldwater rivers, with ranchers, loggers, prospectors, merchants, and businessmen all making a living.

With the completion of the railway in 1885, the coal interest at The Forks was heightened. Originally called Forksdale and Diamond Vale, Merritt was renamed in 1906 in honour of railway promoter William Hamilton Merritt. Today, the Nicola Valley incorporates the communities of Merritt, Quilchena, Douglas Lake, Aspen Grove, Spences Bridge, and Logan Lake.