- Pouce Coupe, British Columbia
Infobox Settlement
official_name = Pouce Coupe
other_name =
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settlement_type = Village
motto =
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image_caption = Pouce Coupe town hall
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image_shield = Pouce Coupe BC logo.jpg
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image_dot_
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dot_map_caption = Location of Pouce Coupe inBritish Columbia
dot_x = 119 |dot_y = 68
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = CAN
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = BC
subdivision_type2 = Regional District
subdivision_name2 = Peace River
subdivision_type3 =
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subdivision_type4 =
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government_footnotes =
government_type =
leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Barb Smith
leader_title1 = Governing Body
leader_name1 = Pouce Coupe Village Council
leader_title2 = MP
leader_name2 = Jay Hill
leader_title3 = MLA
leader_name3 = Blair Lekstrom
leader_title4 =
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established_title = Incorporated
established_date = 5 Jan1932 (village)
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area_total_km2 = 2.06
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population_as_of = 2006
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population_total = 739
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timezone =Mountain standard
utc_offset = -7
timezone_DST = mountain standard
utc_offset_DST = -7
latd= 55|latm= 42|lats= 57|latNS=N
longd= 120|longm= 08|longs= 2|longEW=W
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 650
elevation_ft =
postal_code_type = Postal code span
postal_code = V0C 2C0
area_code = +1-250
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footnotes = The Village of Pouce Coupe "(French for "cut- thumb")" is a smalltown in northeasternBritish Columbia ,Canada , and a membermunicipality of the Peace River Regional District. It was originally named 'Pouskapie's Prairie, after the name of the local native band chief. The 2.06 km² (0.80 mi²) municipality is home to 739 residents.Statistics Canada, [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=5955005&Geo2=PR&Code2=59&Data=Count&SearchText=Pouce%20Coupe&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom= Community Highlights for Pouce Coupe] , "2006 Community Profiles",June 29 2007 .]The community was settled by
Europe an immigrant Hector Tremblay in1898 . Mr. Tremblay, being a French speaking individual, translated 'Pouskapie's Prairie' into the nearest French words of similar sound. Pouce Coupe is approximately 10 km (6 miles) southeast of Dawson Creek along Highway 2. It is approximately 35 km (22 miles) northwest of theAlberta border along Highway 2. The village is at an elevation of 655 metres (2168 ft) in thePeace River Country .Pouce Coupe's main industries today are
petroleum ,agriculture , andtourism . Popular recreational activities in the area includecross-country skiing , snowmobiling,fishing ,hiking , andhunting . The Village claims to be "The Pioneer Capital of the Peace Region". [South Peace Regional Profile, 61]History
While there is debate regarding the origin of the name 'Pouce Coupe', the first known reference to it was in "McLeod's Fort Dunvegan Journal, 19806" which identified a Beaver Indian Chief named 'Pooscapee'. [MacGregor, J.C. "The Land of the Twelve Foot Davies".] The region became known as the Pouce Coupe Prairie, from which the river and village took their names. Permanent settlement began after the French-Canadian
voyageur s Hector Tremblay and Joe Bissette left their group of prospectors from Kamloops during theKlondike Gold Rush and became the first settlers in the Pouce Coupe Prairie. [Tuck, 1-2] In 1898 Bissette built his cabin in the present day Pouce Coupe Regional Park at the confluence of Bissette Creek and Pouce Coupé River, but soon moved on to Dunvegan, Alberta. Tremblay, joined by his wife and children in 1908, built his cabin at the confluence of Dawson Creek and Pouce Coupé River. Tremblay used his cabin as a trading post for local aborinal tribe and resting place for the trickle of travellers that passed through. He also tried ranching cattle and helped cut trails south to Grande Prairie and north to Fort St. John. When the Dominion Government opened thePeace River Block for homesteading, the trails created an influx of settlers between 1912 and 1914. A community began to emerge around Tremblay's cabin as he ran a small store and post office aided inexperienced settlers. This community center moved in 1916 when the post office moved to Frank Haskin's general store and a bank opened nearby. [Tuck, 1-6]After WWI homestead grants to returning soldiers created another wave of settlers and the community center moved to its present location in the early twenties when the post office and other businesses moved to a newly subdivided townsite on Charlie LeRoy's homestead. Until 1932 Pouce Coupe would be the service center for the region. [Tuck, 12] The federal government established an office in the emerging village in 1915 and provincial government followed in 1921. The first school opened in 1917, the Alberta Red Cross opened a hospital in 1921, and the Pouce Coupe Light and Power Co. was established in 1931. [*"The Pouce Coupe Story" in "Lure of the South Peace", pg 848-853.]
As
Northern Alberta Railways was extending their rail lines westward, toWembley, Alberta in 1924 and toHythe, Alberta in 1928, it was expected that Pouce Coupe would be next in line. [http://www.calverley.ca/Part05-Dawson%20Creek/5-008.html The Choice of Terminal for the N.A.R..] Dorthea Calverley, 1983. URL accessed on xx December 2006.] However, as land prices rose and speculation increased, the company made a deal to build the next station near the smaller community of Dawson Creek. The first train went through Pouce Coupe and arrived in Dawson Creek in onJanuary 15 1931 . Despite theGreat Depression and Dawson Creek's increasing dominance over the region as the westernmost rail connection, Pouce Coupe continued to grow, and incorporated as a village, as westward migration into thePeace River Country continued. ["The Pouce Coupe Story" in "Lure of the South Peace", pg 848-853.] The 1941 census recorded 251 people living in the village. In 1942 the population swelled, as the US Army unloaded thousands of men and construction material in nearby Dawson Creek to build theAlaska Highway . The highway was built and the US Army gone within a year but by 1951 the population that remained numbered 459 residents. The village was connected to drinking water and sewage system in 1950, and a natural gas in 1954. [Tuck, 25 and 28.] In large part because of the Women's Institute a library opened in 1951 and a new hospital in 1954. [Tuck, 19.] In the following decades the village would remain in the shadow of Dawson Creek as the provincial and federal government offices moved there in the 1970s. The population level fluctuated between 800 and 930 people since then with the peak occurring in 1996 at 928 people. [BC Stats, Municipal Census Populations, 1976–2006.] In 2007, a large boundary extension northward over agricultural land neary doubled the area of the village and brought its borders within metres of the City of Dawson Creek's.Demographics
The 2001 Canadian census recorded 315 income-earners over the age of 15 residing in Pouce Coupe; of these, 110 worked full-time throughout the year. The village has both higher
unemployment and poverty rates and lower participation rate than the provincial averages. The low participation rate reflects the relatively old population which consists of retired rural farmers and residents. Being a retirement destination, the two largest employers in Pouce Coupe in 2005 were two healthcare homes. [South Peace Regional Profile, 72] Industrial business is concentrated in the highway and oil & gas field construction and servicing. [South Peace Regional Profile, 72] Being only about 10 km from Dawson Creek's downtown and industrial park, residents commute to the larger city for employment, shopping and services. The 2001 Census estimated that only 3% of people in Pouce Coupe between 20 and 64 years old graduated from a university, a fraction of the 24% provincial average and 40% did not graduate from secondary school, double the provincial average.The only school in the village is the
Pouce Coupe Elementary School . It has the capacity for 450 students but the enrollment has decreased from 148 to 99 students between 2001 and 2006. [Dawson Creek Catholic Social Services (2005) [http://www.dawsoncreek.ca/news/documents/IntheNewsVol32005_000.pdf Pouce Coupe Elementary School] Dawson Creek: In the News. Vol. III. pg 14.] [CitySpaces Consulting Ltd. (May 2006). "Housing Consultations: Challenges and Opportunities in Northeast BC". Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Appendix A.] A study by theFraser Institute found that the elementary school had one of the worst academic performances in the province in 2004. [Cowley, Peter, Stephen T. Easton, and The Fraser Institute (April 2005) [http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/admin/books/chapterfiles/70BCEEL05RANK.pdf# Ranking the schools] Report Card on British Columbia’s Elementary Schools — 2005 Edition. pg 123.] The village elects one school board trustee, for representation on School District 59. [School District 59 (British Columbia) [http://www.sd59.bc.ca/vpage.php?p=content+districtteams+boardoftrustees.html Board of School Trustees] , "School District 59 (Peace River South)". URL accessedApril 18 2006 .] Pouce Coupe students commute toSouth Peace Secondary School in Dawson Creek for high school education.Northern Lights College , also in Dawson Creek, is the closest post-secondary school.Culture, recreation and media
Other than an annual Canada Day parade and festival, there are few cultural or recreational events within the village. No newspapers or television/radio stations operate within the village but the "Peace River Block Daily News" and
CJDC-TV include Pouce Coupe in their coverage. The municipality operates the Pouce Coupe Municipal Library and two parks: Village Square and Harden Park. A volunteer historical society runs the Pouce Coupe & District Museum which is housed in old train station. With Dawson Creek so close, many Pouce Coupe residents use cultural and recreational facilities there. The South Peace Community Multiplex, located between the city and the village and partly funded by the village, will have, once opened in 2007, an aquatic centre with an olympic-sized swimming pool, an indoor equestrian centre, and an indoor running track. [ [http://www.southpeacemultiplex.com/ South Peace Multiplex.] City of Dawson Creek. URL accessed on4 January 2007 .] The Peace River Regional District manages the Pouce Coupe Regional Park, on the southern border of the municipality, which has an amphitheatre and camping spots. Nearby provincial parks include theSudeten Provincial Park ,Swan Lake Provincial Park , andOne Island Lake Provincial Park all to the south. Bear Mountain, to the west, has a downhill ski complex and an extensive trail system used for motorized and non-motorized recreation.Government and politics
The Village of Pouce Coupe's
council-manager form ofmunicipal government is headed by a mayor (who also represents Pouce Coupe on the Peace River Regional District's governing board) and a four-member council; these positions are subject to at-large elections every three years. Current mayor, Barb Smith, was first elected in November 2005 defeating Sandy Hull who was acting-mayor following the death of Mayor Doyle McNabb in April 2005. [Rusack, Gary (8 April 2005) [http://www.calverley.ca/Part14-Pouce%20Coupe,%20etc/BN14-25.htm Pouce Coupe Mayor Dies] "Peace River Block News". URL accessedApril 18 2006 .] The village funds and administers a sewerage system, a volunteer fire department, a library, parks, a cemetery, street lights, and roads except the highway. [Village of Pouce Coupe (June 2007). [http://www.poucecoupe.ca/documents/ANNUALREPORTFOR2007_000.pdf ANNUAL REPORT 2007.] ]Pouce Coupe is part of the
Peace River South provincial electoral district, represented byBlair Lekstrom in theLegislative Assembly of British Columbia . In the 2001 provincial election, he was elected as the district'sMember of the Legislative Assembly with 57% support from the city's polls [Elections BC (2001) [http://www.elections.bc.ca/elections/sov01/pcs.pdf Peace River South Electoral District (pdf)] , "Statement of Votes, 2001". URL accessedApril 18 2006 .] and re-elected in 2005 with 50% support.Elections BC (2005) [http://www.elections.bc.ca/elections/sov05/pcs.pdf Peace River South Electoral District (pdf)] , "Statement of Votes, 2005". URL accessedApril 18 2006 .] Before Lekstrom, Peace River South was represented byJack Weisgerber . Weisgerber represented the riding between 1986 and 2001 as a member of theSocial Credit Party of British Columbia , which made him Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources and Minister of Native Affairs before becoming party leader between 1992 and 1993. In 1996 as leader of theReform Party of British Columbia , Weisgerber won re-election even though Pouce Coupe polls put him in third place behind the losing BC Liberal Party and New Democratic Party candidates. [Elections BC (1996) [http://www.elections.bc.ca/elections/sov96/va/sov96_pcs.htm Peace River South Electoral District] , "36th Provincial General Election - May 28, 1996", 5. URL accessedApril 18 2006 .]Federally, Pouce Coupe is located in the
Prince George—Peace River riding, represented in theCanadian House of Commons by Conservative PartyMember of Parliament Jay Hill . Before Hill, who was first elected in 1993, the riding was represented by former Chetwynd mayor Frank Oberle of the Progressive Conservative Party who served as Minister of Science and Technology and later as Minister of Forestry.References
External links
* [http://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/explore/peace/cities/poucec.htm Pouce Coupe page] at the BC Adventure Network
* [http://www.calverley.ca/Part14-Pouce%20Coupe%2C%20etc/14-01.html Editorial letter regarding pronunciation and spelling] of the village's name
* [http://www.britishcolumbia.com/regions/towns/?townID=3658 Pouce Coupe page] at BritishColumbia.com
* [http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/cgi-bin/www2i/.visual/img_med/dir_28/i_28694.gifAerial photograph of Pouce Coupe] in1967
* [http://www.discoverthepeacecountry.com/htmlpages/poucecoupebc.html Discover the Peace Country - Pouce Coupe]
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