In the late 1800s and early 1900s the Provincial Government of BC, and Municipal governments gazetted roads. That is, they placed a notice in the BC Gazette which specified the name, place and dimensions of the road. In essence, this made the street or road “official” and thus a street or road was formally created.
Of course, roads, street and trails existed long before the first vehicles arrived. Some common ways that street and road names in Chilliwack were derived include:
- The names of commonly used trails
- From Anglicized versions of Stó:lō place names
- From geographic features
- By property developers
- After other popular place names, people or World events
- After early landowners and residents in the area
Interestingly, the City of Chilliwack’s transportation routes were generally called “streets”, while the Township of Chilliwhack’s transportation routes were generally called “roads”.
In 1981 the City of Chilliwack and the Township of Chilliwhack amalgamated, forming the District of Chilliwack. As a result, some road and street names were replicated and names were changed.
Our street and road lists may not inclusive as some names are missing and yet to be researched. If you have information about a street, road or place name that is not included on this website, please contact us.
View alphabetical index of streetnames: A-Z Index