"Merritt: the Canadian Capital of Country Music" Province of British Columbia Off The Beaten Path Tip by GillianMcLaughlin

Some 270 km north east of Vancouver, the intrepid driver hits a highly industrialised crossroads that would appear to have little of interest unless the passengers in the car share a fascination for the timber industry. However, a bit of scratching below the surface will take that intrepid traveller into the centre of a small town, home to only 8,000 people, whose architecture screams its history as a frontier town: welcome to the town of Merritt.

Before the first Europeans fought their way to the Nicola Valley in which Merritt sits, the area had long been populated by native people. Since the mid 1800s the land around has been appreciated and exploited for its rich agricultural possibilities, particularly for raising livestock. While ranching remains an important feature of the local economy, the town of Merritt has also been involved in railroads, coal and copper mining and, following the bankruptcy of the town in the thirties, the ever present forestry industry.

Highway developments have since resulted in Merrit becoming an important transport hub for east-west routes as well as north-south ones.

The Merritt Chamber of Commerce has been pivotal in inaugurating a variety of initiatives to diversify the economy of the area. The casual visitor who can overlook the scarring that comes with the heavy industry that Merritt has grown to rely on, will be rewarded by recent restoration work in the town centre that gives an authentic flavour of the architecture favoured by those early pioneers. Fans of country music can indulge their interest through an annual festival that has resulted in the local dignitaries dubbing their hometown "the Country Music Capital of Canada". They can also play "hunt the star" along the streets of the town which now boast a Walk of Stars (see below).