Yale Road Heritage Corridor - Tourism Chilliwack

Yale Road Heritage Corridor 

S E L F - G U I D E D D R I V I N G T O U R 

This guide has been produced by a partnership of The Chilliwack Museum and Archives and Tourism Chilliwack. 

For more information contact the Tourism Chilliwack Visitor Centre • 44150 Luckakuck Way, Chilliwack, BC V2R 4A7 • Tel: (604) 858-8121 • E-mail: info@thegreatoutside.com • Website: www.thegreatoutside.com 

All photographs are courtesy of the Chilliwack Archives. Copies can be obtained at the Chilliwack Archives, 9192 Corbould Street, Chilliwack, BC V2P 4A6 • Tel: (604) 795-9255 • Website: www.chilliwack.museum.bc.ca


Yale Road stretches from one side of Chilliwack to the other and 

roughly parallels the Trans Canada Highway. Parts of the road 

pre-date the 1858 gold rush while other sections were only added in 

the 20th century. 

A drive along the corridor will take you beside ancient Sto:lo village 

and fish processing sites, beside some of the first farms in the area, 

and into the heart of the City at Five Corners. Greendale, Cheam and 

Rosedale are communities that sprang up in the 19th century that 

are also found along the route. 

Y 

Yale Road, looking from Five Corners towards Nowell Street, ca. 1920. 

(P577, Chilliwack Archives) 

You can start your drive along the corridor at Rosedale or Greendale 

but be sure to time your trip to arrive in downtown Chilliwack for a 

bite of lunch at one of Chilliwack’s many fine restaurants. 

Sumas Methodist Church 

1886 

Sumas Methodist Church, 

with Chilliwack Mountain 

in background. 


In 1869 a Methodist Church was built 

on Yale Road, near Atchelitz Creek. 

The church, the first in the area, served 

the small communities developing at 

Sumas (now Greendale), Chilliwack 

and Sardis. By 1882, Chilliwack had 

its own Methodist Church. Sumas 

followed with their own church in 1886. 

When services at the church ended in 

1971, a succession of owners followed. Finally, in 1996, Henry Meerkerk 

purchased the building and over the next five years lovingly restored the 

building to its former glory. The building now serves as a wedding chapel 

and photography studio. 

Y A L E R O A D H E R I T A G E C O R R I D O R Y A L E R O A D H E R I T A G E C O R R I D O R 

1

2 Sumas Trunk Road 

High Water Mark 3 

1862 

1948 Flood 

David Miller, and George, 

Chester, William and James 

Chadsey pre-empted land in 

an area that eventually became 

the community of Greendale. 

Further east, others were settling 

on land that would become 

the urban core of Chilliwack. 

Linking the two communities 

was a road, the Sumas Trunk 

Road that eventually became 

Yale Road. From the late 1920s 

to 1960, the road served as the 

Trans Canada Highway. This 

was after Sumas Lake was 

drained and it became possible 

to build a road across the Sumas 

Prairie and before the freeway, 

Highway 1, was built. 

George Chadsey originally settled 

on land adjacent to the Sumas 

Trunk Road (Yale Road) in 1866. 


Aerial view of the Sumas/ 

Greendale area during the 

Fraser River flood of 1948. 


On June 1, 1948 at 1:15 in the 

afternoon, a break occurred 

in the dike that protected the 

community of Greendale from the 

rising waters of the Fraser River. 

Within hours the community was 

evacuated and the entire western 

half of Chilliwack was under water. 

The flood was caused by the rapid 

melting of snow in the Fraser River 

watershed so that the Fraser River was incapable of holding the 

water flowing from northern sources. The dikes, originally built in 

1900, were in poor condition and in some communities incapable 

of holding the floodwaters. For the residents of Greendale, it was to 

be months before some were able to return to their homes. Many 

lost everything that they owned. After the flood the dikes were 

rebuilt and are now capable of withstanding even the severest flood 

cycles. 

Y A L E R O A D H E R I T A G E C O R R I D O R Y A L E R O A D H E R I T A G E C O R R I D O R

4 Atheléts 

Katseslóy 5 

“at the creek” 

“meeting together” 

This village site is occupied by 

members of the Athelets band. 

Atchelitz Creek meets the old 

channel of the Chilliwack River 

near this site. The rich resources 

in the Chilliwack area were 

heavily used by the Athelets who 

were part of the Ts’élxweyeqw 

(Chilliwacks) tribal group. 

At this site, three waterways 

joined together, the 

Luckakuck, Coqualeetza and 

Katseslóy Sly Slough. All three 

waterways emptied into the 

Chilliwack River just north of this 

location. The site was a major fish 

processing locale as evidenced by 

a preponderance of fire cracked 

rock - refuse from the old way of 

roasting fish over heated pebbles - 

found throughout the area. 

In 1869, the first church in the area, Atchelitz Methodist Church was built 

near this site. (P1464, Chilliwack Archives) The Sumas Trunk Road connected settlements at Sumas (now called Greendale) 

to another small settlement called Chilliwack Landing. The road, one 

of Chilliwack’s oldest, dates to 1862 or earlier. (P1002, Chilliwack Archives) 


6 Ch’elxwyéqw 

“going back upstream; as 

far as you can go in canoe” 

Jonathan Reece Farm 

1862 

7 

The Sardis area once carried the 

main waters of the Chilliwack 

River. A network of sloughs and creeks 

fed into the main channel of the river 

and all were navigable by canoe only 

as far as Vedder Crossing. While the 

name Chilliwack refers to a place near 

Vedder Crossing, as far as you can go 

in a canoe, it also refers to the river 

and the broader geographical area 

that covers most of Sardis. Hudson 

Bay Company journals (Fort Langley 

Journals, 1827-30, edited by Morag 

Maclachlan, UBC Press, Vancouver, 1998) refer to the Chilquihooks, 

the aboriginal group who lived in the settlements along the old 

channel of the Chilliwack River. The main channel of the Chilliwack 

River was diverted into Vedder Creek after 1875 leaving only a small 

stream to flow through Sardis and past this point. Various spellings 

have been used but the name was 

eventually adopted as the name for 

the community that became the 

City of Chilliwack. 

Yale Road at the bridge across the Little 

Chilliwack River. Before 1875, this 

river bed was the main channel of the 

Chilliwack River. In that year, a log jam 

at Vedder Crossing caused its water to 

flow in a different direction, reducing 

the flow through this channel. (P598, 

Chilliwack Archives) 

Jonathan and Lucinda (nee Lewis) Reece family, ca. 1890s. 

Back row, left to right: Flora, Bertha, Edwin, Lena. Front 

row, left to right: Lucinda Reece, Elnora “Nora”, and Jonathan 

Reece. (P5304, Chilliwack Archives) 

The 1858 gold rush drew 

thousands of gold seekers to 

British Columbia. Most passed by or 

through Chilliwack. A few saw the 

opportunities for supplying the gold 

seekers with food and supplies. By 

1862, Jonathan Reece pre-empted 

land on what was then called the 

Chilliwack Prairie. Natural grasses 

and rich soil made this an ideal 

location for Reece and his brotherin-law 

Isaac Kipp to begin the tradition of farming in Chilliwack. 

Their two farms, over 800 acres, stretched over most of the western 

part of the downtown area and by 1866 were described as the most 

advanced farms in the Fraser valley. 


8 Five Corners 1873 

Sqwá:la 9 

“coming out into the open” 

Picture postcard view of the second St. Thomas Anglican Church at Five 

Corners, as it appeared ca. 1908. (P617, Chilliwack Archives) 

In 1873, a small settlement, Chilliwack 

Landing, was located at the end of 

Wellington Street on the Fraser River. 

However, the site was subject to the 

flood cycles of the Fraser River and was 

surrounded by an established Indian 

Reserve. There was limited growth 

potential for the small settlement. In 

1873, a small handful of Anglicans in 

the Chilliwack area were anxious to 

hold services in their own building. An 

abandoned church was found at Port 

Douglas at the head of Harrison Lake 

and was moved to Chilliwack and placed 

at the intersection of the Landing Road (Wellington) and a new road 

that connected Chilliwack to New Westminster and Yale. The building 

was the first to be placed at Five Corners and became the focal point for 

the expanding community. Other buildings were constructed around the 

intersection and downtown Chilliwack was born. 

large village settlement was 

A once located adjacent to Little 

Mountain. When the Sqwá:la 

Reserve was established in 1879 

there were still people living on the 

site. After this date, the remaining 

residents moved to the nearby 

Skwah Reserve. The aboriginal 

group that lived here were members 

of the Pilalt tribe. While the Pilalt, 

Chilliwacks and Teit, who lived 

above Rosedale on the Fraser all 

spoke Halq’eméylem, variations in 

the way words were pronounced led 

to the groups being identified by 

their dialects. 

A crossing, known as the Ford, was located north of this site at Hope 

Slough. Before bridges, this was the only way that residents of Fairfield 

Island could travel to Chilliwack. (P1987.167.18, Chilliwack Archives) 


10 Sleigh Road (Winter only) Meadowlands Golf Course 11 

1865 

1933 

Overhead view of Yale 

Road and Chilliwack 

townsite, as seen from the 

water reservoir on Little 

Mountain, ca. 1907. 

(P1987.167.56, Chilliwack 

Archives) 

In 1865, construction began on the 

Collins Overland Telegraph line. The 

line followed an earlier pathway linking 

Chilliwack to Hope and Yale. The road was 

only a few feet wide and was impassable 

during the winter months. It was upgraded 

to wagon road status during the period 

from 1873 to 1875. By 1900 parts of the road were paved and Yale Road 

became the major highway serving the Fraser Valley. 

Aerial view of the Meadowlands 

Golf Course, ca. 1936. 

(Wells Aero Photo, PColl 42, file 93, 


Chilliwack’s first golf course was located 

on Fairfield Island and was originally 

called the Chilliwack Golf Club. The ninehole 

course was 3,004 yards in length, had 

a right and left hand dog’s leg hole, two 

par 2 holes, one of which had a punchbowl 

green, two holes with water hazards, and 

four holes of over 400 yards in length. 

Golf dues were $25.00 for a man and his 

wife, $20.00 for a single man, and $10.00 

for a single lady, with $5.00 green fees 

for all. While this course did not survive 

long, a second course, Meadowlands Golf Course, was built in 1933 and is 

Chilliwack’s oldest established course. 


12 Cheam 

The Big Ditch 13 

1871 

1894 

Cheam Methodist Church 

(right), and the Cheam 

Community Hall (left). 


East of Chilliwack nestled against 

Mount Shannon and extending along 

Yale Road beside Hope Slough is the 

community of Cheam. Meadowlands 

Golf Course, Cheam Elementary School, 

and a number of businesses located 

at the intersection of Yale and Gibson 

Roads are considered to be within the 

boundaries of Cheam. 

While the first farms were established in 

the 1860s around the Five Corners area, 

it wasn’t until the 1870s that the more easterly sections of the community 

were settled. The tiny community of Cheam, once heavily forested, was 

home to many families whose names are commemorated on local roads. 

Early attempts to drain the swamps 

and bogs of East Chilliwack were 

largely limited to localized efforts. 

Community wide drainage schemes 

did not take shape until after the 

1894 flood. East Chilliwack, one of the 

wetter areas, is today criss-crossed by 

a network of ditches, collecting water 

from nearby fields or from streams 

running off the nearby mountains. 

Perhaps the oldest ditch dates to a time 

before 1900. The ‘Big Ditch’ runs beside 

Upper Prairie Road draining areas that 

were once bogs and swamps. 

East Chilliwack Presbyterian Church 

was located a short distance south of 

the intersection of Yale and Upper 

Prairie roads, at the corner of Chilliwack 

Central and Upper Prairie 

Road. Long time residents still refer 

to Upper Prairie Road as the “Big 

Ditch” Road. (P6835, Chilliwack 

Archives) 


14 Sxelá:wtxw 

Sesa:qiwel 15 

“marked or painted house” “ice of thunder cracked trees” 

Until about 1910, Yale 

Road travelled through 

the Cheam Indian 

Reserve 1907. (P1186, 


large village, complete with 

A longhouses for summer use 

and pit house sites for winter 

use, was located beside Yale Road 

on Hope Slough. It was occupied 

by the Pilalt who lived along 

the sloughs that stretched from 

Rosedale to the point where Hope 

Slough empties into the Fraser 

River. 

Sloughs offered protection 

and transportation routes for 

aboriginal groups living along the 

Fraser River. Many of these villages 

were abandoned when smallpox 

decimated local populations 

beginning in 1792. 

Like many early roads, Yale Road followed close to existing waterways such 

as Hope Slough. (P5591, Chilliwack Archives) 


16 Rosedale 

Rosedale Ball Park 17 

1875 

1910 

Street level view of the commercial 

buildings and businesses in Rosedale, 

ca. 1910. Included in the picture is E. 

Archibald & Sons, General Merchants 

and Stocker & Close general Store. 


The completion of the Yale-New 

Westminster Wagon Road in 

1873/1874 led directly to the settlement 

of Rosedale. J.C. Henderson and T.H. 

Henderson acquired land near the 

present town site in the early 1880s. A 

host of others followed. By 1890, there 

were enough families in the area to 

warrant building a school. This original 

one room school, with fifteen students, was located at the corner of Yale 

and McGrath Roads. This corner became the commercial centre of the 

community. There have been a variety of businesses located at this busy 

corner since the turn of the century, including a bank, stores, restaurants, 

garages, rooming house and post office. The corner remains the centre for 

the community. 

The area’s population boomed beginning in the 1890s. This boom lasted 

for more than thirty years, fuelled by the logging, railway and farming 

industries. It was a transition period that saw farms replace sawmills. 

From 1904 and on, Rosedale 

developed a competitive 

baseball team. While other 

communities had regulation ball 

fields, league games in Rosedale 

were played on available 

pasture lands complete with 

animals and stumps. In 1910, 

the Rosedale Athletic Club was 

formed and one of their first 

acts was to acquire a four acre 

property for a community ball 

park. Except for brief periods, 

the Rosedale Athletic Club 

cared for the park until 1976 

when the Chilliwack Parks and 

Recreation Department assumed 

management of the park. 

The Rosedale baseball team finally had their own ball field in 1910 

and were able to abandon playing games in farmer’s fields, ca. 1910. 




S E L F - G U I D E D D R I V I N G T O U R 

1 2 

Sumas Methodist Church 1886 

Sumas Trunk Road 1862 

High Water Mark 1948 Flood 

Atheléts“at the creek” 

Katseslóy “meeting together” 

Ch ’ elxwéqw “going back upstream; 

as far as you can go in canoe” 

3 

1 7 Jonathan Reece Farm 1862 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

4 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

5 

7 

6 

Five Corners 1873 

Sqwá:la “coming out into the open” 

Sleigh Road (Winter only) 1865 

Meadowlands Golf Course 1933 

Cheam 1871 

8 

9 10 11 

This guide has been produced by a partnership of The Chilliwack Museum and Archives and Tourism Chilliwack. 

For more information contact the Tourism Chilliwack Visitor Centre • 44150 Luckakuck Way, Chilliwack, BC V2R 4A7 • Tel: (604) 858-8121 • E-mail: info@thegreatoutside.com • Website: www.thegreatoutside.com 

All photographs are courtesy of the Chilliwack Archives. Copies can be obtained at the Chilliwack Archives, 9192 Corbould Street, Chilliwack, BC V2P 4A6 • Tel: (604) 795-9255 • Website: www.chilliwack.museum.bc.ca 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

12 

13 

14 

The Big Ditch1894 

Sxelá:wtxw “marked or painted house” 

Sesa:qiwel “ice of thunder cracked trees” 

Rosedale 1875 

Rosedale Ball Park 1910 

15 

17 

16

Yale Road Heritage Corridor - Tourism Chilliwack

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