Chilliwack

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For other uses, see Chilliwack (disambiguation).
Chilliwack
City of Chilliwack

Flag
Seal
Nickname(s): The Wack
Motto: "Cor Viride Provinciae"  (Latin)
"The Green Heart of the Province"
Chilliwack
Location of Chilliwack in British Columbia
Coordinates: 49°09′27.8″N 121°57′03.3″W / 49.157722°N 121.950917°W / 49.157722; -121.950917
Country Canada
Province British Columbia
Region Fraser Valley
Founded 1873
Incorporated 1980
Government
 • Mayor Sharon Gaetz
 • Governing body Chilliwack City Council
Area
 • City 261.50 km2 (100.97 sq mi)
Elevation 10 m (30 ft)
Population (2011)
 • City 77,936
 • Density 298.0/km2 (772/sq mi)
 • Metro 92,308
 • Metro density 75.7/km2 (196/sq mi)
Time zone PST (UTC-8)
 • Summer (DST) PDT (UTC-7)
Postal code span V2P to V2Z
Area code(s) 1 + 604
Highways Highway 1
Waterways Chilliwack River, Vedder River, Fraser River
Website Official website

Coordinates: 49°09′27.8″N 121°57′03.3″W / 49.157722°N 121.950917°W / 49.157722; -121.950917 Chilliwack is a Canadian city in the province of British Columbia. It has long been a predominantly agricultural community, but with an estimated population of 80,000 people, it has become more urban. Chilliwack is the second largest city in the Fraser Valley Regional District after Abbotsford. 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, horseback riding, biking, camping, fishing, and golf. Chilliwack is the location of the head offices of the Fraser Valley Regional District.

History

Between 5,000 and 10,000 years ago the Stó:lō lived in the Chilliwack area. At the time of the first contact with Europeans it is estimated that there were as many as 40,000 people living within Stó:lō territory.

In 1857, gold was discovered in the Fraser Canyon. By 1859, over 40,000 gold miners had trekked to the goldfields, most 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 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. 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 "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 1984 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] Anglicized spellings include Chilliwhyeuk and other versions closer to the original Halkomelem, the language of the Stó:lō communities around Chilliwack and Sardis. In Halq'eméylem (Halkomelem), Chilliwack means "as far upriver as you can go before having to switch to a pole". It is also the name of a river (the Chilliwack River), and group of aboriginal people, the Ts’elxweyeqw.[2]

Geography

Vedder River Campground near Cultus Lake, located just south of Chilliwack.
Vedder River

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.

Chilliwack is surrounded by tall mountain peaks (such as the dramatic Mount Cheam and Slesse Mountain) and mighty rivers (the Fraser and Vedder). 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.

Climate

Chilliwack's mild climate with limited extremes provides excellent growing conditions for a wide variety of crops and agricultural products. The highest temperature recorded in Chilliwack was 38.2 °C (100.8 °F) on July 29, 2009, and the lowest recorded temperature was −21.7 °C (−7.1 °F) in 1968. Precipitation falls mostly as rain, with snow limited, for the most part, to the surrounding mountains.

Chilliwack receives nearly the same number of days of precipitation (184.6 days at greater than 0.2 mm) as comparable local communities nearer Vancouver such as Maple Ridge (185.8 days) and the City of Mission (186.0 days) (Environment Canada Statistics). Summers in Chilliwack are usually sunny and hot, with long days (light out until well after 10pm in June with dusk that lasts for hours).

Due to its location at the eastern end of the Fraser Valley, there has been some debate about preserving Chilliwack's air quality. However, the 2011 World Health Organization's study of air quality shows that Chilliwack enjoys air quality among the best in the world. For PM10 (10 µm) size particulates, Canada averaged third best in the world (along with Australia) at an average of 13 micrograms per cubic metre. The City of Chilliwack and Metro Vancouver were tied at a low 8.0 MPCM. For smaller particulate of 2.5 µm size (PM2.5), "the City of Chilliwack averaged 4.9 micrograms per cubic metre. Vancouver also had 4.9, Calgary had 5.6, Winnipeg had 5.6, Toronto had 7.9, Montreal had 11.2 and Sarnia had 12.7."

Climate data for Chilliwack Airport
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 18.3
(64.9)		 20.6
(69.1)		 24.5
(76.1)		 32.2
(90)		 34.5
(94.1)		 36.7
(98.1)		 38
(100)		 36.1
(97)		 36.5
(97.7)		 27.8
(82)		 21.1
(70)		 19
(66)		 38
(100)
Average high °C (°F) 6.1
(43)		 8.8
(47.8)		 11.8
(53.2)		 15.8
(60.4)		 19.1
(66.4)		 21.7
(71.1)		 25
(77)		 25.3
(77.5)		 22.3
(72.1)		 15.3
(59.5)		 9.3
(48.7)		 6
(43)		 15.5
(59.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 3.3
(37.9)		 4.9
(40.8)		 7.3
(45.1)		 10.5
(50.9)		 13.7
(56.7)		 16.4
(61.5)		 18.8
(65.8)		 18.7
(65.7)		 15.7
(60.3)		 10.8
(51.4)		 6.2
(43.2)		 3.3
(37.9)		 10.8
(51.4)
Average low °C (°F) 0.4
(32.7)		 1
(34)		 2.8
(37)		 5.2
(41.4)		 8.2
(46.8)		 11
(52)		 12.5
(54.5)		 12.1
(53.8)		 9.1
(48.4)		 6.4
(43.5)		 3.1
(37.6)		 0.5
(32.9)		 6
(43)
Record low °C (°F) −20.6
(−5.1)		 −16.7
(1.9)		 −14.4
(6.1)		 −6.1
(21)		 −1.7
(28.9)		 1.1
(34)		 3.3
(37.9)		 2.8
(37)		 −2.8
(27)		 −7.2
(19)		 −14.4
(6.1)		 −21.7
(−7.1)		 −21.7
(−7.1)
Precipitation mm (inches) 233.5
(9.193)		 125.8
(4.953)		 154.7
(6.091)		 116.3
(4.579)		 93.1
(3.665)		 91.7
(3.61)		 48.1
(1.894)		 56.7
(2.232)		 75.2
(2.961)		 178.5
(7.028)		 283.8
(11.173)		 210.1
(8.272)		 1,667.5
(65.65)
Rainfall mm (inches) 206.9
(8.146)		 114.7
(4.516)		 143.7
(5.657)		 115.2
(4.535)		 93.1
(3.665)		 91.7
(3.61)		 48.1
(1.894)		 56.7
(2.232)		 75.2
(2.961)		 178.4
(7.024)		 272.7
(10.736)		 185.8
(7.315)		 1,582.2
(62.291)
Snowfall cm (inches) 26.6
(10.47)		 11.2
(4.41)		 11
(4.3)		 1.1
(0.43)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0
(0)		 0.1
(0.04)		 11.2
(4.41)		 24.3
(9.57)		 85.3
(33.58)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 20.6 15.9 19.7 17.5 15.8 14.6 8.7 8.5 9.9 17.1 21.5 20.1 189.9
Avg. rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) 18.6 14.6 19.2 17.5 15.8 14.6 8.7 8.5 9.9 17.1 20.9 18.4 183.8
Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) 5 2.9 1.9 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0.1 2 4.8 16.8
Source: [3]

Demographics

Yale Road Chilliwack circa 1908 Site of City Hall museum
Until the railway and road access were built most travel to Chilliwack was done via Paddlewheelers

(according to Statistics Canada 2011 census)

  • Population: 77,936
  • Growth Rate (2001–2006): 12.6%
  • Total Private Dwellings: 32,059
  • Area: 261.50 km².
  • Density: 298.0 people per km².
Canada 2006 Census Population % of Total Population
Visible minority group
Source:[4] 		South Asian 555 0.8%
Chinese 630 0.9%
Black 250 0.4%
Filipino 130 0.2%
Latin American 475 0.7%
Arab 35 0.1%
Southeast Asian 210 0.3%
West Asian 75 0.1%
Korean 190 0.3%
Japanese 250 0.4%
Other visible minority 40 0.1%
Mixed visible minority 220 0.3%
Total visible minority population 3,065 4.5%
Aboriginal group
Source:[5] 		First Nations 1,970 2.9%
Métis 1,315 1.9%
Inuit 10 0%
Total Aboriginal population 3,395 4.9%
White 62,210 90.6%
Total population 68,670 100%

People from Chilliwack

Economy

Chilliwack's primary industries are agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism. The city provides fishing, golf, hiking and year round whitewater rafting services. 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 University of the Fraser Valley's (UFV) Chilliwack campus.

Canadian Forces Base Chilliwack

Canadian Forces Base Chilliwack (CFB Chilliwack) closed in 1999 due to defense cutbacks at the end of the Cold War, in 1991. The base originated in 1941, as Camp Chilliwack, following Canada's 1939 entry into the Second World War. A few months after the outbreak of the Pacific War in response to the attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, the camp was expanded to garrison Canadian Army units for the defence of Canada's West Coast. The base was also a recruit training facility: 112 Canadian Army Basic Training Centre, and A6 Canadian Engineering Training Centre were housed at Chilliwack until the war's end in 1945.

During the Cold War, the base was used as a permanent training facility and the garrison for the Canadian Army units of British Columbia. The base housed the Royal Canadian School of Military Engineering, formerly A6 Canadian Engineering Training Centre and 58 Field Engineer Squadron which was transferred from CFB Esquimalt on Vancouver Island (Greater Victoria).

Following the unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, the base was renamed Canadian Forces Base Chilliwack (CFB Chilliwack). The base housed the following units:

  • Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering (CFSME—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 cutbacks at 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 at Vedder Crossing, containing the barracks and schools, was mothballed and sold for civilian development, while the Chilcotin Training Area, better known as Area C, is still operational and is part of Western Area Training Centre (WATC).

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 the Canadian Army units of 39 Canadian Brigade Group, and the cadet units of BC.

Museums

Name Town/City Regions Type Summary
Canadian Military Education Centre Chilliwack Fraser Valley Military website

Transportation

A bus with no driver parked on the side of the road

The public transit system is operated by Chilliwack/Agassiz-Harrison Transit System, which is partly funded by BC Transit. There are currently 12 routes. Routes 1-5 primarily serve the downtown core while routes 6, 7, 10 and 12 serve the Sardis/Promontory area. Route 8 serves the southern community of Yarrow. Route 9 is a summer only shuttle to Cultus Lake. Route 11 heads east along Yale Road East towards Agassiz/Harrison. There are 2 zones, but the only route that covers both is the #11, which crosses the zone boundary at the Agassiz-Rosedale Bridge.

Chilliwack Airport serves the city.

Education

School District 33 Chilliwack contains a total of 30 public schools as well as 1 Catholic school, 1 Adventist School, and several other Christian schools. The two main high schools, Sardis Secondary School (grades 10-12) and Chilliwack Secondary School (grades 10-12) are complemented by G.W. Graham Middle-Secondary School which has students from grade 7 to grade 12. There are five other Middle Schools each taking grades 7 to 9.

Post Secondary institutions in Chilliwack consist mainly of the University of the Fraser Valley, a school consisting of over 21000 students over several campuses all over the Fraser Valley. Starting as a college in 1974, it became a university college in 1988 and in 2008 it became a full university.

Arts and culture

Despite their name, the band Chilliwack actually formed and has always been based, in nearby Vancouver. The city of Chilliwack itself has a vibrant (albeit self-contained) rock music scene, centering mostly around young ska and punk rock bands. The drumline from Sardis Secondary played at several venues during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. 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 and there are biannual performances from the Chilliwack Symphony Orchestra, and the Chilliwack Metropolitan Orchestra.

Annual events and festivals include: Back to the Blues Gospel blues festival.,[8] which Chilliwack has hosted since 2004. The Chilliwack Community Arts Council has hosted the Chilliwack Bluegrass Festival for twenty-five years, the Chilliwack Christmas Craft Market for thirty-eight years, and the Chilliwack International Film Series, which takes place in both the Spring and Fall. They also offer many other community events and classes throughout the year. The Downtown Chilliwack Business Improvement Association hosts free concerts and activities in the downtown core each Friday evening during the summer months of July and August called Party in the Park. Music and More is another free summer event that takes place each Wednesday throughout July and August, with kids activities at Noon and concerts in the evening. This event is presented by numerous local arts groups working together, such as: The Chilliwack Library, The Chilliwack Academy of Music, and The Chilliwack Community Arts Council. Another annual event that is the corn maze where the public go to roam in the farmers fields when the crops of corn are at their highest.

The University of the Fraser Valley's theatre department is located in Chilliwack, performing three mainstage shows and a festival of student-directed plays every year, as well as providing performing arts education.

The Chilliwack Cultural Centre, a new $22 million theatre facility, is a performing arts venue located in downtown Chilliwack. The building is home to the Chilliwack Players' Guild (the resident theatre company), as well as the Chilliwack Academy of Music, which provides high quality music instruction and programming in all styles, for students of all ages and abilities living in Chilliwack and the surrounding communities. Expert instruction is offered on a variety of instruments as well as through group classes and performing ensembles led by highly trained and experienced faculty.

Now operating out of the old Chilliwack Arts Centre, the Chilliwack School of Performing Arts provides training in acting, singing and dancing to children ages 3–18. Mainly focused on dance, Creative Outlet Studio also provides drama training to children.

The Chilliwack Museum located in the 1912 former city hall on Spadina Avenue, is a National Historic Site of Canada.[9] The Chilliwack Museum and Archives are a non-profit organization operated by the Chilliwack Museum and Historical Society which began in 1958 by brothers Oliver and Casey Wells.

The Book Man is the second-largest used bookstore in the province of British Columbia.

Chilliwack is well known for its corn which is distributed worldwide. The months of June until September are the months when the farmer's take advantage of the sunny weather and produce up to two crops of corn for both human consumption as well as to feed the cattle. Some farmers in Chilliwack open up a "corn maze" for the public to roam around in the field trying to find their way out.

Media

Main article: Media in the Fraser Valley

The Chilliwack Progress is British Columbia's oldest community newspaper, published continuously with the same name in the same community since April 1891.

Also, The Chilliwack Times is delivered every Tuesday and Friday to over 30,000 homes in Chilliwack and in surrounding communities

Sports

The British Columbia Hockey League's Chilliwack Chiefs, play at Prospera Centre. The team is formerly the Quesnel Millionaires. The franchise was purchased and moved to Chilliwack by the Chiefs Development group, headed by Moray Keith, Jim Bond and Harvey Smyl. They started in the BCHL's Interior Conference for the 2011/2012 BCHL Season. While the original Junior "A" team, the Chilliwack Chiefs, plays in Langley, British Columbia, as the Langley Rivermen (the Chiefs Development Group sold their interest in the Langley Chiefs but retained the 'Chiefs' name and history). The Western Hockey League's Chilliwack Bruins, formerly played at the Prospera Centre. The expansion franchise began play in 2006 and ended when the team was sold at the end of the 2011 season. They became the Victoria Royals WHL hockey team in 2011.

Community sports include hockey, lacrosse, softball, soccer, football, baseball and swimming. The Canadian Junior Football League's Chilliwack Huskers play at Exhibition Stadium.

Chilliwack's minor baseball Cougars were the 2006 Western Canadian tier 2 champions. Chilliwack hosted the 2007-2008 Synchronized Skating Canadian Championships at the Prospera Centre.

Chilliwack Minor Hockey Association was organized in 1958 with the opening of the former Coliseum arena and has featured presidents such as Dave Soltys.

References

  1. ↑ History of Chilliwack
  2. ↑ Chilliwack Museum and Archives
  3. ↑ "Calculation Information for 1981 to 2010 Canadian Normals Data". Environment Canada. Retrieved July 9, 2013. 
  4. ↑ , Community Profiles from the 2006 Census, Statistics Canada - Census Subdivision
  5. ↑ , Aboriginal Peoples - Data table
  6. ↑ Lazaruk, Susan (2011-06-25). "‘Moving, simple and beautiful’ services held for Betty Fox, 73". Postmedia News (Windsor Star). Retrieved 2011-06-27. 
  7. ↑ People from Chilliwack, British Columbia.
  8. ↑ Back 2 Blues. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
  9. ↑ Chilliwack City Hall. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 29 October 2011.

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