Chilliwack

This is where I grew up. (Well, technically, I grew up in Sardis and Greendale—bedroom communities of this little city.) With a current population of approximately 107,000, it is nestled in the Fraser Valley. Driven by “affordable” housing and a high quality of life, Chilliwack is considered one of the faster-growing communities in British Columbia. I wouldn’t know much about that; it’s been nearly fifty years since I lived there. And I’m not entirely convinced that an average of $600,000 for a three-bedroom house qualifies as “affordable.”

The area was first settled by Europeans drawn there by the Fraser River Gold Rush in 1858. But it didn’t take long for newcomers to turn to the more practical industry of agriculture to make their living. The rich and fertile river valley proved ideal for growing corn and raising dairy cattle. Gold may have brought people there, but farming kept them.

Originally, the settlement was called Centerville. This unimaginative name was replaced with Chilliwhack when the area was incorporated as a township in 1873. Then, in 1908, the City of Chilliwack was founded—essentially occupying the same geographic area but operating at a different municipal level.

For decades, the valley had two municipalities: the City of Chilliwack and the Township of Chilliwhack, each spelling the same place name slightly differently. When they merged in 1980, the unified municipality finally settled on one spelling: Chilliwack.

But where did the name Chilliwack come from?

It has nothing to do with a cold smack upside the head. Nor does it relate in any way to the aftermath of eating something spicy.

Chilliwack is an anglicized form of the Halq’eméylem word Ts’elxwéyeqw, meaning something along the lines of “going as far as you can go upriver” or “valley of many streams.” More specific interpretations include “going back upstream” or “the place of the back-eddy—where the water turns back.”

Long before Europeans arrived, Ts’elxwéyeqw was home to the Stó:lō people. For thousands of years—likely between 5,000 and 10,000—the Stó:lō harvested salmon from the river that sustained their communities. Cedar provided material for clothing, shelter, and canoes, while local plants supplied food and medicine. During the winter months they lived in permanent villages; in the warmer seasons they moved to temporary fishing and gathering camps along the river.

No matter which interpretation of the name one prefers, it is clear that the rivers played a central role in Stó:lō life. Paying homage to the powerful and unpredictable currents would have been entirely fitting.

Still, one cannot help but wonder how European settlers must have struggled with the complex sounds of the Stó:lō language. Over time, the name passed through several anglicized spellings—including Chilliwhyeuk—before eventually settling into the modern form we recognize today.

So the next time you travel through the Fraser Valley and pass through this fast-growing little city, remember:

You are always welcome in Ts’elxwéyeqw.