Place:Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada

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NameChilliwack
TypeCommunity
Coordinates49.15°N 121.9°W
Located inBritish Columbia, Canada
Contained Places
Cemetery
Chilliwack Cemeteries
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Chilliwack is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is located east of Vancouver off the Trans Canada Highway. Historically an agricultural community, Chilliwack's population is now primarily suburban. The Fraser Valley Regional District is headquartered in Chilliwack, which is the Fraser Valley's second largest city after Abbotsford. Chilliwack is surrounded by mountains and home to recreational areas such as Cultus Lake and Chilliwack Lake Provincial Parks. There are many outdoor activities in the area, including hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking horseback riding, whitewater kayaking, camping, fishing, golf and paragliding. Chilliwack is known for its annual corn harvest, and is home to the Province's second largest independent bookstore The Book Man.

The city had a population of 93,203 in the 2021 Canadian census, with a census metropolitan area population of 113,767 people.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The archaeological record shows evidence of people in the Fraser Valley, or S'ólh Téméxw, 10,000 years ago. Permanent structures in the Chilliwack area date from around 5,000 years ago. It is estimated that at the time of the first contact with Europeans, there were as many as 40,000 people living within Stó:lō territory.

By 1859, over 40,000 gold miners had trekked to the goldfields of the upper Fraser River, many travelling through the Chilliwack area. By the mid-1860s, several farms had grown up around the steamboat landings on the Fraser River called Miller's Landing, Minto Landing, Sumas Landing and Chilliwack Landing.

The Township of Chilliwhack was incorporated in 1873, the third municipality in British Columbia. The initial settlement was along the Fraser River at Chilliwack Landing. Steamboats were the main mode of transportation, carrying goods and passengers between Chilliwack and New Westminster. After the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885, many residents began to cross the Fraser River at Minto Landing to catch the train at Harrison Mills.

With little room for expansion along the river, the commercial area of the town moved south to the junction of the New Westminster-Yale Wagon Road, Wellington Avenue and Young Road, called "Five Corners". A large subdivision called Centreville was built in 1881. The name "Centreville" was replaced In 1887 by the more popular "Chilliwack."

The Chilliwack area experienced extensive flooding in the 1894 Fraser River flood.

The Chilliwack (formerly Centreville) area was incorporated in 1908 as a separate municipality, the City of Chilliwack. The city and the township co-existed for 72 years.

The Chilliwack area again experienced extensive flooding in the 1948 Fraser River flood.

In 1980, the Township of Chilliwhack and the City of Chilliwack merged to form the District of Chilliwack. The District of Chilliwack became the City of Chilliwack in early 1999. Chilliwack has the largest number of rainbow crosswalks in BC despite City Council's decision not to install more.

In November 2021, an atmospheric river caused widespread flooding in Chilliwack, forcing major roads, including Highway 1, to close indefinitely. The Highway has since been reopened for traffic in this area.

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