The Stó:lō people lived in the area between 5,000 and 10,000 years ago. The population grew from 1857 to 1859 when gold was found in the Fraser Canyon. Over 40,000 gold miners had traveled to the goldfields and many of them traveled through the Chilliwack area. Chilliwack was incorporated as a town in 1873 and was the third municipality in British Columbia.