Chilliwack - Community Overview

The Chilliwack area was settled as early as 1856, when Volkerk Vedder of New York State began promoting its agricultural possibilities. The first land pre-emptions were granted in 1862 and the Township of Chilliwack was incorporated in 1873. By 1883, the area known as Centreville, the hub of the Chilliwack Valley, was incorporated as a village, later to become the City of Chilliwack in 1908.

In 1911, the B.C. Electric tram service connected Chilliwack to Vancouver, followed in 1913 by the Canadian Northern Railway, which linked Chilliwack with the rest of Canada.

Chilliwack lies along the banks of the mighty Fraser River, in the heart of the lush Upper Fraser Valley, one of Canada’s richest agricultural areas. Chilliwack contains some of the most productive farmland in British Columbia. Agriculture, along with the processing of the produce is a major economic component. Chilliwack is also the retail heart of the region with a wide array of goods available.

The City of Chilliwack is located on the Trans-Canada Highway, 100 km east of Vancouver and 15 km east of Abbotsford. Approximately 40 km southwest of Chilliwack lies Sumas, Washington, one of the main Customs Ports of Entry at the Canada/U.S. Border.

The population of Chilliwack numbers approximately 91,797.

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