Chase, British Columbia
Encyclopedia
Chase is a village located in the Interior of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It has a population of roughly 2,500, and its main industries are forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
. It is located at the outlet of Little Shuswap Lake
Little Shuswap Lake
Little Shuswap Lake is a small lake in the Thompson River basin of the southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, which sits at the transition between the Thompson Country to the west and the Shuswap Country to the east...
, which is the source of the South Thompson River. Chase Creek, which drops over three small waterfalls before flowing through the town, enters the South Thompson just below the lake's outlet.
History
The town of Chase was named after Whitfield Chase, an American from New York State who arrived in the area in 1867 after coming to Canada during the Fraser Canyon Gold RushFraser Canyon Gold Rush
The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River. This was a few miles upstream from the Thompson's confluence with the Fraser River at present-day Lytton...
. He was the first non-native settler who farmed and raised a family in what was then called the Shuswap Prairie. He married a young Secwepemc
Secwepemc
The Secwepemc , known in English as the Shuswap people, are a First Nations people residing in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Their traditional territory ranges from the eastern Chilcotin Plateau and the Cariboo Plateau southeast through the Thompson Country to Kamloops and the Shuswap...
girl who was 25 years his junior. Her name was Per-soons, but when they married she changed her name to Elizabeth. His head cowboy Filemon deLeenheer married Elizabeth's sister, Cimmenak. Whitfield and Elizabeth raised ten children together. The town was named in honour of Whitfield Chase although the community did not exist until more than 10 years after his death.
An American logging company first came to the area in 1907 and purchased what became the original town site from Whitfield's heir. They subdivided the land into lots, installed water and electricity and sold the lots to workers and business people. For the location of the mill, they leased approximately 70 acres (283,280.2 m²) of land from the Chase family that bordered the Thompson River near Little Shuswap Lake.
The Chase Mill became known as the Adams River Lumber Company because they logged exclusively off the Adams River
Adams River (British Columbia)
The Adams River is a tributary of the Fraser River in British Columbia, Canada. Beginning in the Monashee Mountains to the north, the Upper Adams River flows mainly southward and eventually reaches Adams Lake. The Lower Adams River begins at the southern end of the lake and flows into the extreme...
and Adams Lake
Adams Lake
Adams Lake is a large, deep, coldwater lake. The southern end of the lake is approximately north of the town of Chase in the Shuswap Country region of British Columbia, Canada. The lake's upper reaches lie in the northern Monashee Mountains, while its lower end penetrates the Shuswap...
area. The Adams River Lumber Company, after logging within 100 feet (30.5 m) of the Adams River and Lake closed the mill in 1925 and took their profits back to the United States. This lease terminated in 2006 and the property reverted to descendants and heirs of the Chase family.
Chase grew slowly over the next few decades with only a small core of permanent residents. It was not until incorporation in 1969 that the community began to market itself as a tourist destination and people began to explore the area. The community, as a result, saw an increase in population with visitors to the area returning to live, work and retire. Chase also benefited from the construction of the Coquihalla Highway in the mid-1980s.