Thompson Country , also referred to as The Thompson and sometimes as the Thompson Valley and historically known as the Couteau Country or Couteau District , is a historic geographic region of the Southern Interior of British Columbia , more or less defined by the basin of the Thompson River . This is a tributary of the Fraser ; the major city in the area is Kamloops .
21-670: Little Fort is an unincorporated community in the Thompson region of south central British Columbia . The former ferry site is immediately west of the mouth of Lemieux Creek and on the west shore of the North Thompson River . At the BC Highway 24 intersection on BC Highway 5 , the locality is by road about 93 kilometres (58 mi) north of the Kamloops and 30 kilometres (19 mi) southwest of Clearwater . From
42-803: A Premier, respectively. The Thompson's settlement, history, and economy have been dominated by the two transcontinental rail lines flanking the river: the Canadian National Railway parallels the North Thompson, and the Canadian Pacific Railway the South Thompson. Thompson-Nicola Regional District The Thompson–Nicola Regional District is a regional district in the Canadian province of British Columbia . The Canada 2021 Census population
63-497: A few years later. The deserted structure remained standing for decades. In 1893, Antime Lemieux, who was the first Caucasian settler, established a trading post on the west shore. In 1896, Napoleon Genier settled his family on the east shore. The fertile sandy soil attracted more families during 1907 and 1908. Two men from Spokane, Washington had bought the Lemieux business, which the partner named Ross ran. In 1901, blood splatter
84-595: A film commission. The region is unique in Canada as it consistently holds around some of the hottest summer temperatures in the country, while also containing an area around Ashcroft that may be the only arid climate in Canada. As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , the Thompson-Nicola Regional District had a population of 143,680 living in 59,885 of its 65,065 total private dwellings,
105-474: A general store and bought the hotel, which was not rebuilt after a 1922 fire. The settlements on both sides of the river were called Mt Olie by 1924and Little Fort by the mid-1930s. Latremouille (snr.) secured government funding to upgrade the trail south to Chu Chua on the west side into a wagon road in 1910. The next year, he established a weekly Kamloops stage, which his sons Leodore and Hector Latremouille drove. In 1913, George Mason and Albert Kempster bought
126-480: Is characterized by sagebrush and rangeland, with benchlands flanking the Thompson's deepening canyon from Savona downstream. Desert and, higher up, pine-covered mountains and hillsides flank the river and Kamloops Lake , which lies at the heart of the region. Lytton often vies with other interior towns for the title of "Canada's Hot Spot", with summer temperatures regularly topping 38 °C (100 °F). Since
147-629: Is the territory of the Secwepemc people, who traditionally spoke a Salishan language . From Spences Bridge downstream, the Thompson and the Nicola basins are the territory of the various Nlaka'pamux nations. The Thompson Country, the South Thompson in particular, was one of the first areas of the Colony of British Columbia to be opened by the government to land alienation and active settlement by non-indigenous peoples. Fur traders originally used what
168-536: The 1820s, the Hudson's Bay Brigade Trail from Fort Alexandria reached the North Thompson River at this point. In 1850, Paul Fraser, who was in charge of Fort Kamloops , established a Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) outpost on the east shore of the river. To distinguish the location from the main fort at Kamloops, the name Little Fort was chosen. Experiencing limited business, the trading post was abandoned
189-864: The Mountain Resort Municipality of Sun Peaks . The region is named indirectly for the Thompson River by way of the traditional regional names of "the Thompson Country " and "the Nicola Country "; the Nicola Country was named for Chief Nicola and was originally "Nicola's Country", where he held sway; he is also the namesake of that river. The regional district government operates over 125 services including libraries, solid waste management and recycling, community services, emergency and development services,
210-540: The North Thompson and in the higher areas of the plateaus to the north and south of the river (the Bonaparte Plateau and Thompson Plateau , respectively). Because of the low elevation of the valley's floor, winter temperatures are not too severe. As the region is in the immediate rainshadow of the Coast Mountains and Cascade Range , summer temperatures are among the hottest in Canada. The region
231-598: The Thompson and the Trans-Canada Highway , as far as Spences Bridge . The Thompson Canyon downstream from there to Lytton at the Thompson's confluence with the Fraser is usually referred to as being part of the Fraser Canyon. That is also applied to the highway from Hope to Spences Bridge or sometimes Cache Creek . The Thompson Country is semi-arid and desert-like, except in the upper reaches of
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#1732790181029252-788: The business. In June 1913, the eastward advance of the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) rail head reached the location. The ferry provided settlers on the west side of the river access to the train station on the east side. North River Coach Lines, which had operated Kamloops–Little Fort, extended the route northward to Birch Island in 1946. Prior to ceasing all intraprovincial services in 2018, Greyhound Canada reduced service in 2013 from two to one trip daily at stops such as Little Fort. The Kamloops– Edmonton route of Thompson Valley Charters stops in Little Fort. An access point to at least two hundred fishing lakes,
273-489: The community has two motels, a gas station, pub, and church. Just north is a motel/café/campground. [REDACTED] Media related to Little Fort, British Columbia at Wikimedia Commons Thompson Country The term originated among Scots and English in the days of the fur trade , who described Thompson Country as lying between New Caledonia to the north and the Columbia District or Oregon Country to
294-571: The earliest ranches in the Interior are still operating today. The Douglas Lake Ranch , based in the Nicola Country but spanning the Thompson and including some of the Shuswap, is one of the world's largest. Near Cache Creek, the historic Ashcroft Manor and Semlin Ranch and others were British military land-grants. The Ashcroft and Semlin ranches were owned and occupied by a Lieutenant-Governor and
315-661: The entire Thompson basin, and potentially used in that context, more commonly it refers to the immediate vicinity of the Thompson River, with subareas such as the Bonaparte Country or Nicola Country usually referred to separately. The term "North Thompson" used to refer to the valley of the North Thompson River . The term "South Thompson" refers not only to the short valley of the South Thompson River but also to Kamloops and towns westward along
336-613: The nineteenth century, ranching has been the historic core of the economy in the South Thompson and the adjoining Nicola and Bonaparte countries. It is also important northeast of Kamloops in the Shuswap Highland country, towards Adams Lake and the rest of the Shuswap Country . Logging and tourism are other traditionally important industries, especially in the North Thompson. Most of the Thompson Country
357-500: The south. Prior to their dominance, French traders referred to this as Couteau [knife] Country or Couteau District . The Thompson nomenclature is still used today, although not as an official designation. It is often used combination forms, such as the Thompson-Okanagan or Thompson-Nicola Regional District . Weather forecasts and tourism information refer to the area as Thompson-Shuswap. Although strictly referring to
378-436: The west shore in 1910, the post office was also named Mt. Olie. Around 1912, the west shore townsite, called Mt Olie, was surveyed. Joseph H. Latremouille, who had settled on the east side around 1907, built a sawmill on Lemieux Creek in 1913. His son-in-law Charlie Davis opened a hotel that year. During this era, a racehorse track was established. In 1917, M.M. Etter bought the sawmill. In 1919, Jim Man Lee and his father opened
399-588: Was 143,680 and the area covers 44,449.49 square kilometres. The administrative offices are in the main population centre of Kamloops , which accounts for 78 percent of the regional district's population. The only other city is Merritt ; other municipally-incorporated communities include the District Municipalities of Logan Lake , Barriere and Clearwater and the Villages of Chase , Ashcroft , Cache Creek , Clinton and Lytton , and also
420-401: Was discovered on the floor and walls, and Ross was missing. Despite a police investigation, no charges were ever laid. In 1957, the abandoned building was burned down for health reasons. The later levelling of the lot unearthed a human skeleton. A post office operated on the east shore 1907–1909. Mt. Olie, a nearby hill, was named after Olie Olesen, an early settler in the vicinity. Opening on
441-788: Was known as the Brigade Trail , which ran from the Okanagan via Kamloops northwestward to Green Lake , by the last leg of the Okanagan Trail from Washington Territory to the Fraser Canyon . Its western portion was the key section of the Cariboo Road connecting the Fraser Canyon to the Cariboo Plateau and its distant goldfields. This area has been important to the history of British Columbia. Many of
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