Chilliwack


Chilliwack is a city with a population of about 100,000 people and an area of in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located about east of the City of Vancouver in the Fraser Valley. The enumerated population is 93,203 in the city and 113,767 in the greater metropolitan area.
About two-thirds of city land is protected as part of the Agricultural Land Reserve, and agriculture accounts for about 30 percent of the local economy. The city is bounded on the north side by the Fraser River, and on the south side by the Vedder River and Canada–United States border, and is surrounded by tall mountain peaks, such as Mount Cheam and Slesse Mountain.

Etymology

In Halq'eméylem, the language of the Stó:lō communities around Chilliwack and Sardis, Tcil'Qe'uk means "valley of many streams". It also lends its name to the Chilliwack River, and group of aboriginal people, the Ts'elxwéyeqw. The spelling of Chilliwack is sometimes a matter of confusion. Prior to the amalgamation of the City of Chilliwack and the Municipality of Chilliwhack, there were two different spellings. When amalgamated, the current spelling of the city was adopted. Anglicized spellings include "Chilliwhyeuk" and other versions closer to the original Halq'eméylem.

History

The archeological record shows evidence of Stó:lō 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.

19th century

In the mid-nineteenth century, thousands of gold miners transited the area en route to the goldfields of the upper Fraser River. By the mid-1860s, settlers had established farms around Codville's Landing, Miller's Landing, Minto Landing, Sumas Landing, and Chilliwack Landing along the Fraser River.
On April 26, 1873, the "Corporation of the Township of Chilliwhack" became the third municipality incorporated by the Province of British Columbia. The town centre at the time was concentrated at Chilliwack Landing along the Fraser River. Steamboats were the main mode of transportation, carrying goods and passengers between Chilliwhack 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 ride the train from Harrison Mills.
In 1881, with little room for expansion and the threat of floods constantly looming, the town centre was moved south to "Five Corners" at the junction of the New Westminster-Yale Wagon Road, Wellington Avenue and Young Road. This subdivision was initially named "Centreville", but later was renamed "Chilliwack", as it was more commonly referred to by locals in 1887. The area would experience catastrophic flooding in 1894, 1935, 1948 and 2021.
On April 20, 1891, Richard Plunkett Cooke, George de Wolf, and Walter E. Graveley established the Chilliwhack Railway Company.

Early 20th century

On February 20, 1908, the area that was then known as Chilliwack, i.e., the subdivision within the greater Chilliwhack Township, was proclaimed as the City of Chilliwack by letters patent issued by the provincial government under the Chilliwack City Incorporation Act. The City of Chilliwack and the Township of Chilliwhack co-existed as separately administered municipalities until 1980.
On October 4, 1910, the British Columbia Electric Railway began operating regularly scheduled passenger service on the New Westminster–Chilliwack Interurban Line.
In 1941, Camp Chilliwack was established following Canada's entry into the Second World War in 1939. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, the camp was expanded to garrison Canadian Army units for the defence of Canada's West Coast. It continued to be used as a permanent training facility and army garrison during the Cold War. Following the unification of the Canadian Armed Forces in 1968, the base was renamed Canadian Forces Base Chilliwack. The base housed the following units:

Late 20th century

On January 1, 1980, the Township of Chilliwhack and the City of Chilliwack amalgamated to form a single municipality styled the District of Chilliwack, following the passage of referendae in both municipalities. On July 16, 1999, the District of Chilliwack, once again, was renamed the City of Chilliwack. To the present day, locals idiosyncratically use the same name to refer to the city as a whole, and to the old city centre. It is also the name of the greater metropolitan area encompassing adjacent sovereign indigenous nations, municipalities, and unincorporated areas.
In 1997, following the end of the Cold War a few years earlier, CFB Chilliwack closed. Its training facilities were converted into the Canada Education Park, a campus for multiple institutions, including the Justice Institute of British Columbia, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the University of the Fraser Valley, and the Western Area Training Centre. Today it also houses supply depots for the 39 Canadian Brigade Group of the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Army Cadets. The old quartermaster warehouse became the Canadian Military Education Centre Museum.

Geography

Chilliwack is located in the Upper Fraser Valley, 100 kilometres east of Vancouver on the Trans-Canada Highway. The city is bounded on the north by the Fraser River, and on the south by the Canada-United States border.
Chilliwack is surrounded by tall mountain peaks, such as Mount Cheam and Slesse Mountain, and large rivers.

Geology

The Chilliwack Batholith forms much of the North Cascades in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and the U.S. state of Washington. The geological structure is primarily named after the City of Chilliwack, where it is the most notable geological feature.
The Chilliwack Batholith is part of the Pemberton Volcanic Belt and is the largest mass of exposed intrusive rock in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. The age of the Chilliwack batholith ranges from 26 to 29 million years old.
In 2013, Maclean's reported that, with an average annual temperature of, Chilliwack is the warmest city in Canada.

Cityscape

The city is made up of several amalgamated villages and communities. The urban core follows a north–south axis bisected by the Trans-Canada Highway. The city is bounded in the north by the Fraser River, in the east by the Eastern Hillsides, in the south by the Canada–US border, and in the west by the Vedder Canal. With 939 farms on approximately of dedicated farmland, farming remains an important part of the Chilliwack landscape.

Neighbourhoods

Neighbourhoods on the north side

Also referred to as "Chilliwack Proper Village West", the north side covers the area from the Trans-Canada Highway in the south, to the Fraser River in the north, and includes the communities of Camp River, Chilliwack Mountain, Downtown Chilliwack, East Chilliwack, Fairfield Island, Rosedale and Popkum. Downtown Chilliwack is the historical urban centre of the city. Several cultural attractions, such as the Chilliwack Coliseum, Chilliwack Cultural Centre, The Book Man and the Eagle Landing Shopping Centre are located there, as well as key government buildings, such as city hall, FVRD offices, and the Provincial Court of British Columbia.

Neighbourhoods on the south side

The south side includes the communities of Atchelitz, Cultus Lake Park, Greendale, Promontory Heights, Ryder Lake, Sardis, Vedder Crossing, Garrison Crossing and Yarrow. Sardis is the urban core of the south side and is a popular shopping destination.

Parks

Music

Chilliwack has an active rock music scene, initially centering mostly around young ska and punk rock bands. The modern scene has expanded to genres including metal, grunge, pop punk, emo, and shoegaze. Bands originating in Chilliwack include: These Kids Wear Crowns, Mystery Machine, and The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets.
Chilliwack also has a thriving classical music community, featuring the Chilliwack Symphony Orchestra and the Chilliwack Metropolitan Orchestra.
The drumline from Sardis Secondary School played at several venues during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Chilliwack also offers many other community events and classes throughout the year. The Downtown Chilliwack Business Improvement Association is hosting music in Central Park on Saturdays for the month of August 2022.
Despite their name, the band Chilliwack was actually formed, and is based, in nearby Vancouver.

Performing arts

The Chilliwack Cultural Centre is a performing arts venue located in downtown Chilliwack. The building is home to the Chilliwack Players' Guild, as well as the Chilliwack Academy of Music.
The UFV Theatre is a 206-seat thrust stage venue formerly belonging to the University of the Fraser Valley Theatre Department. Until 2017, UFV produced three or four mainstage shows each year, as well as the annual Directors' Festival, which featured student directors and performers from UFV, Capilano University, Thompson Rivers University, University of Victoria, UBC and Douglas College. As of 2021, the theatre is part of the Imagine High public high school.
The Chilliwack School of Performing Arts provides pre-professional training in acting, singing and dancing to children ages 3–18 at their downtown location. The mainstage show performs a two-week run every January at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre, and a Spring Festival featuring performances from many age groups in late May. Programs at the Chilliwack Performing Arts can be registered for at. Many different programs are available, including a Junior Musical Theatre and Summer Break Camps.