Vedder River - History

History

Historically the Chilliwack River flowed north from Vedder Crossing, over a broad alluvial fan to the Fraser River. In 1875 heavy rains caused a logjam that diverted the river into two small streams, called Vedder Creek and Luckakuk Creek. This caused hardship for the area's farmers. In 1882 a new logjam was deliberately created which caused the waters of several streams to shift course toward the west, flowing into the now-drained Sumas Lake. A freshet in 1894 caused the new course to become permanent. In the early 20th century the diverted river was diked and channelized. Today the Chilliwack River changes into the Vedder River at Vedder Crossing, and then becomes the Vedder Canal farther downstream. The Vedder Canal was created in the 1920s as part of the effort to drain Sumas Lake. The former course of the Chilliwack River below Vedder Crossing is now known as Chilliwack Creek, which flows north to the Fraser River.

The Chilliwack River was heavily used by the Northwest Boundary Survey of 1857-1862 as a means of accessing the 49th parallel north in order to survey and map the border between American and British-Canadian sovereignty. A number of the Chilliwack's tributaries cross the 49th parallel, including Liumchen Creek, Tamihi Creek, Damfino Creek, Slesse Creek, Nesakwatch Creek, and, from Chilliwack Lake, Klahailhu Creek and Depot Creek. Both American and British surveying parties established base camps on Chilliwack Lake from which they sent field parties through the Chilliwack drainage and east to the Skagit River drainage. In addition, the Whatcom Trail followed much of the Chilliwack River's course.