Chilliwack, British Columbia
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| Chilliwack, British Columbia | |||
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| Motto: "Cor Viride Provinciae" (Latin) "The Green Heart of the Province" |
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | Canada | ||
| Province | British Columbia | ||
| Region | Fraser Valley | ||
| Founded | 1873 | ||
| Incorporated | 1980 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Clint Hames | ||
| - Governing body | Chilliwack City Council | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 260.19 km² (100.5 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 10 m (33 ft) | ||
| Population (2006) | |||
| - Total | 69,217 | ||
| - Density | 266.0/km² (688.9/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) | ||
| Postal code span | V2P to V2Z | ||
| Highways | Highway 1 | ||
| Waterways | Chilliwack River, Vedder River, Fraser River | ||
Chilliwack is a Canadian city in the Province of British Columbia. It is a predominantly agricultural community with an estimated population of 70,000 people. The city is surrounded by mountains and recreational areas such as Cultus Lake and Chilliwack Lake Provincial Parks. There are many outdoor opportunities in the area, including hiking, biking, camping, fishing, and golf. Chilliwack is the seat of the Fraser Valley Regional District.
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[edit] History
Between 5,000 and 10,000 years ago the Sto:lo arrived in the Chilliwack area. At the time of their first contact with Europeans it is estimated that there were as many as 30,000 people living within Sto:lo territory.
In 1857, gold was discovered in the Fraser Canyon. By 1858, over 30,000 gold miners had treked to the goldfields, most travelling through the Chilliwack area. By the mid 1860's several farms had grown up around the steamboat landings on the Fraser River called Miller's Landing, Sumas Landing and Chilliwack Landing.
The Township of Chilliwack was incorporated in 1873, the third municipality in British Columbia. 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.
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 "Chilliwhack." The area was incorporated in 1908 as a separate municipality, the City of Chilliwack. The City and the Township co-existed for 72 years. In 1980 they merged to form the District of Chilliwack. The District of Chilliwack became the City of Chilliwack in the early 1990s.
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. Upon amalgamation, the spelling of the City was used. [1] Archaic spellings include Chilliwhyeuk and other versions closer to the original Halkomelem, the language of the Sto:lo communities around Chilliwack and Sardis.
[edit] Geography
Chilliwack is located in the upper Fraser Valley, 100 kilometres (60 mi) 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.
Surrounded by tall mountain peaks (such as the dramatic Mount Cheam and Slesse Mountain) and mighty rivers (the Fraser and Vedder), Chilliwack's natural setting is magnificent. Some have argued that the city itself, once a small agricultural town, "has become an example of sprawling suburbia and bad city planning." Efforts to revitalize the languishing downtown, and to curb the spread of housing subdivisions into valuable farmland, have proved challenging.
[edit] Climate
Chilliwack's mild climate with limited extremes provides excellent growing conditions for a wide variety of crops and agricultural products. The average temperature is 1.6 degrees Celsius in January and 18 degrees Celsius in July. Precipitation falls mostly as rain, with snow limited, for the most part, to the surrounding mountains.
As Chilliwack is situated at the end of the Fraser Valley, it is one of the wettest cities in the valley. Rain clouds funnel to the end of the valley and, as they are pushed over the mountains, drop their cargo. This occurrence is most frequently seen in November and December, when locals claim that it is not uncommon for it to rain during the entire month. Despite the region's reputation for rain, most of it falls in the rather extensive winter months. Summers are usually sunny and pleasant, with long days (light out until well after 10pm in June with dusk that lasts for hours), little rain, comfortable daytime temperatures, refreshing nights, and minimal humidity.
Due to its location at the eastern end of the Fraser Valley, there is some debate about Chilliwack's air quality. It is often said that air pollution from Vancouver and other "up wind" cities accumulates at Chilliwack, particularly during the summer months. However, the complexities of the Lower Mainland airshed with its microclimates and point source pollution (for example aerosols from farms) along with the increasing and ubiquitous presence of automobiles, make such generalizations problematic. The air quality in the Fraser Valley has reportedly been improving in recent years, not declining as commonly believed. Air quality has been the subject of a recent Spare Our Air campaign and a protest against the construction of a power plant in nearby Sumas, Washington.
[edit] Demographics
(according to Statistics Canada 2006 census)
- Population: 69,217
- Growth Rate (2001-2006): 10.6%
- Total Private Dwellings: 27,929
- Area: 260.19 km².
- Density: 266.0 people per km².
[edit] People from Chilliwack
- Steven Point, first aboriginal Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia
- Allan Fotheringham, columnist. Worked for The Chilliwack Progress as a student, columnist for Maclean's magazine, The Globe and Mail, ten-year panelist on Canadian television show Front Page Challenge.
- Keith Hunter Jesperson, serial killer.
- Brian Minter, horticulturist and entrepreneur. President of Minter Gardens, columnist for several BC and national garden magazines.
- Dave Archibald, former professional hockey player with Minnesota North Stars and Ottawa Senators.
- Robbie Tallas, former professional hockey player with Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks.
- Rick Klassen, former CFL football player.
- Dr. George Pedersen, University president. President of five universities (University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, University of Western Ontario, Royal Roads, UNBC), graduated from Chilliwack High School in 1950.
- Chris William Martin, actor. Grew up in Yarrow, a Chilliwack suburb.
- Diana Swain, television journalist. Graduated from Chilliwack High School in 1983.
- Homer Thompson, classical archaeologist. Grew up in Chilliwack on a dairy farm.
- Tasha Tilberg, supermodel. Born in Chilliwack on July 23, 1979. Appeared on the covers of magazines such as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and Marie Claire. CoverGirl model.
- Tony Clarke, activist, who graduated from Chilliwack Senior Secondary.
- Patrick Gallagher, actor, starred in Night at the Museum,
- Jan Lars Jensen, Author of Shiva 3000, Nervous System: Or, Losing My Mind in Literature
- Graham G Alexander, Controversial Entrepreneur and Hotel Developer
[edit] Economy
Chilliwack's primary industries are agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism. The city is particularly famous for its fishing, golf, hiking and year round whitewater rafting. The Canadian military used to have an army training base in Vedder Crossing, but it was closed in the mid 1990s. Today all that remains is the Army's area support unit or ASU. The remainder of the base has since been converted into the Canada Education Park, which houses the RCMP's Pacific Regional Training Centre (PRTC) and is the site of the new eastern campus of the University College of the Fraser Valley (UCFV)[2]. UCFV's current campus is on Yale Road.
The largest industrial operations in Chilliwack are:
- Nestle Water Distribution Warehouse
- Kal-Tire retreading plant
- Cam-Tran Pacific (electrical transformers)
- Beaver Plastics Ltd
- Rogers Foods Ltd (flour mill)
- Soprema International (roofing products).
- Murphy Aircraft (kit airplanes for the do-it-yourself market)
- Vantage Foods (meat packer)
- Johnson Packers (meat packer).
- Taplow Feeds (fish and animal feed)
- Stream International operates a call-center in Chilliwack that employs 1500+ people.
Agriculture, Tourism, and the Government Sector are all large employers as well.
[edit] Canadian Forces Base Chilliwack
Chilliwack was home to Canadian Forces Base Chilliwack (CFB Chilliwack), which closed in 1999 due to defense cutbacks as a result of the end of the Cold War in 1991.
The base was first opened in 1941 as Camp Chilliwack, prior to the Second World War. A few months after the outbreak of the Second World War in the Pacific after the sudden attack on the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbour, the camp was expanded to garrison Canadian Army units for the defence of Canada's West Coast. The base was a garrison for army units, but also a recuit training facility; 112 Canadian Army Basic Training Centre, and A6 Canadian Engineering Training Centre was housed at Chilliwack for the duration of the war until its end in 1945.
During the Cold War, the base was used as a permanent training and garrison facility for the Canadian Army units of British Columbia. The based housed the Royal Canadian School of Military Engineering, formly A6 Canadian Engineering Training Centre, and also housed 58 Field Engineer Squadron which was transferred from CFB Esquimalt on Vancouver Island.
Upon the unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, the base was renamed Canadian Forces Base Chilliwack (CFB Chilliwack). The base housed:
- Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering (formerly Royal Canadian School of Military Engineering)
- Canadian Forces Officer Candidate School (CFOCS) (transferred in 1971 to CFB Chilliwack)
- 1 Combat Engineer Regiment (formerly 58 Field Engineer Squadron)
In 1994, the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, was transferred from CFB Esquimalt to CFB Chilliwack, the last unit to be transferred to the base.
Due to Department of National Defence cutback due to the end of the Cold War, the base was closed in 1997. The CFOCS, was transferred to Area Support Unit St-Jean in Quebec (ASU St-Jean), the CFSME transferred to CFB Gagetown, 3 PPCLI and 1 Combat Engineer Regiment were transferred to CFB Edmonton.
The base, which consisted of 2 areas, Vedder Creek, which contained the barracks and schools, was mothballed and sold for civilian development, while the Chilcotin Training Area, or better known as Area C, is still operational and is part of Area Support Unit (ASU Chilliwack).
Area C is used by the Primary Reserves units of British Columbia for field training and for the use of its firing ranges. The ASU is also used by Cadets for field training. The ASU also houses supply depots for supplying the Canadian Army units of 39 Canadian Brigade Group, and the cadet units of BC.
[edit] Arts and culture
Perhaps the best-known musical act affiliated with the city is the band Chilliwack, but while it took the settlement as its namesake, the band actually formed and has always been based in nearby Vancouver. The city of Chilliwack itself has a vibrant(albeit self-contained) musical scene, centering mostly around young ska and punk rock bands. It has given birth to such bands as Abernethy, Slogan, The Lazy Susans, 22 Hookers, A Canadian Werewolf In..., JPMP, New World On Fire, Spindle, Pond Scum, Scantily Clad, Mystery Machine, The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, Whitey, Jump Rope for Heart, and Goodnight Medic.
[edit] Sports
Chilliwack is home to the Western Hockey League's Chilliwack Bruins, who play at the Prospera Centre. The expansion franchise began play for the 2006-2007 season.
The city's Junior "A" team, the Chilliwack Chiefs, moved to Langley, British Columbia to make way for the Bruins.
Chilliwack is home to the Canadian Junior Football League's Chilliwack Huskers, who play at Exhibition Stadium.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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Lake Errock, Deroche, Dewdney, Mission | Rosedale, District of Kent ( Including Agassiz, Harrison Mills, Ruby Creek and Woodside Village) |
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| Abbotsford, Greendale, Yarrow |  |
Popkum, Bridal Falls, Hope | |||||
 Chilliwack  |
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| Cultus Lake, Whatcom County, USA |
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