The Place:
Chase is known as the western gateway to the Shuswap Region, Shuswap Lake being considered the houseboat capital of Canada. One of the more exciting attractions of Chase itself is a pair of
ziplines in the valley of Chase Creek, which runs through the village before emptying into the South Thompson River. About a half kilometre in length, they zip down a steep and narrow canyon over a rushing waterfall. For the less adventurous there is a smaller zipline right in town, beside the Trans Canada Highway.
Chase really began in about 1907 as a lumber mill town, was named after Whitfield Chase in 1908 and was incorporated in 1969. In 2008 the town staged 109 days of events to celebrate its centennial. From 1907 to 1925 Chase was home to the largest lumber mill in the BC interior. After its closing the town continued on the employment offered by several smaller mills.
The Person:
The village was named after an American from New York State, Whitfield Chase. Born in 1820 to Josiah Chase and Sarah Barlow in Otsego, New York, he was a member of the famous New York Chases. Chase came to Canada during the 1858 Caribou gold rush. He prospected in the Thompson River area until 1864, then settled in the Chase area in 1865, becoming the first non-native settler in the area. He married a First Nations girl, Elizabeth Pierson, eldest daughter of Neskonlith Indian Band Chief Synsetia. Together they raised four (or three, depending on the source) sons and six daughters. Whitfield passed away in 1896.
Although the town didn't come into being until more than ten years after his death, it was nonetheless named after him.
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