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					The Land : Clearing the Land
			The Land Colonial Settlers Community of Villages Pre-emptions Agriculture Timelines Image Gallery		Parts of the floodplain and adjacent hillsides were covered with dense growths of cedar and fir trees. In 1873, the first sawmill went into operation in Popcum, on the eastern and heavily forested edge of the Valley. Many other mills followed, usually small operations that operated for only a few years. After 1920, most of the Valley floor and some of the hillside areas were clear of these forests. Logging and milling activities shifted to some of the more inaccessible areas, in the Chilliwack River Valley and Columbia Valley. The land clearing process took over 50 years but by 1920 was almost complete. As land was cleared, agricultural pursuits took over. A few areas, on Vedder Mountain and in the Chilliwack River Valley remain forested and continue to be sources for timber.
					Cheam and East Chilliwack as seen from the cemetery on Little Mountain. P1987 167 25.		Smoke rising from burning slash, to make the reservoir on Little Mountain. P696
					Members of the Richard Brett family clearing trees near Little Mountain. P697.	The second Orion Bowman mill at the foot of Promontory ca. 1930. P2101	Tretheway Mill at Rosedale ca. 1905-1906. P3274

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