History of Chilliwack

By 10,000 years ago the Sto:lo were present along the Fraser River. Gold seekers first arrived in British Columbia in 1857 and by December, 1858 up to 30,000 miners were pouring into the area, with most travelling through the Chilliwack area. 

By the mid-1860s a few of the gold seekrs had established small farms to service this growing population.  These farms were located near riverboat landings.  In Chilliwack, this meant that Miller's, Sumas and Chilliwack Landing became early population centres.

The Township of Chilliwack was incorporated in 1873, the third oldest municipality in British Columbia. Initially the settlement was concentrated along the Fraser River at Chilliwack Landing.

Since the small community had little room for expansion along the river, the main commercial area of the town moved up the road to the junction of the New Westminster-Yale Wagon Road, Wellington Avenue and Young Road. The centre came to be called Five Corners.

In 1881 a large subdivision called Centreville was developed. In 1887 the name Centreville was replaced by a more popular name, Chilliwhack, and the area was incorporated in 1908 as a separate municipality, the City of Chilliwack. The City and the Township co-existed for 72 years, and finally in 1980 they merged to form the City of Chilliwack.