Welcome, From the Museum Director

For thousands of years, the ancestors of the Sto:lo, the people of the river, have lived beside the Fraser River and in adjacent river valleys. In 1858, gold was found in the Fraser River canyon around the community of Yale. Thousands of newcomers subsequently flooded into British Columbia. While most continued in their quest for gold, others settled beside the river. A small agriculturally-based community, named Chilliwack, began to form.

The Chilliwack Museum and Archives began collecting objects and archival documents in 1958, amassing a collection that chronicles the lengthy history of the area.

We welcome visitors to our web site and to our museum and archives buildings to learn about this history.  - Ron Denman More about our history >