The Chase & District Museum & Archives Society is a dedicated non-profit group whose mandate since 1984 is to "Preserve and Present" both the cultural and natural history of our district. Our District encompasses the Village of Chase, Shuswap Station, Chase Creek, Turtle Valley, Pritchard, Squilax, North Shuswap, and Adams Lake. We work in cooperation with other museums and historical societies in the area to ensure our local history is preserved.

​

Very significant to our district are three First Nations Bands. Neskonlith Indian Band on the south shore of the South Thompson River, the Adams Lake Indian Band on the north shore of the South Thompson River, and the Little Shuswap Lake Indian Band on the northern side of the Little Shuswap Lake.

​

​The Museum itself is the original Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church that was built in Chase in 1909/1910. The Museum officially opened its doors in 1987. On its grounds, the Museum also has a heritage homestead cabin (originally built in Turtle Valley), a garage containing a 1923 Franklin Touring Sedan, a historical road grader, and a fire hose reel cart (the first fire fighting equipment for Chase).

​

In 2011, the Museum suffered a major fire that caused significant damage to the building and many artifacts. Since then, the Museum has been fully renovated and hundreds of artifacts have been cleaned and restored. This massive effort would not have been possible without our dedicated volunteers and support from our local government.

​

In 2018 the Museum unveiled a large stone cairn topped with a bell from a Canadian Pacific Railway engine that traveled through Chase. This cairn, with the theme "Together We Are Stronger" displays plaques from the three First Nations bands in our district, the Province of British Columbia, the Village of Chase, and the Chase Museum. Alongside the cairn, the Museum now flies the flag of the Secwepemc Nation alongside the flags of Canada and British Columbia to symbolize the importance of First Nations people to our area (See photos of the cairn unveiling under our events tab).      

​​

In 2023 the road grader was moved to the West edge of the Museum property so that a large pollinator garden could be added to the West lawn. With a few wooden benches included, it is now a beautiful spot to sit and enjoy the flowers! This was a joint project between the Museum and the Chase and Area Family Services (formerly Chase and Area Young Learners Society) who have also added other pollinator gardens around Chase. There is also a lending library installed on the West lawn, courtesy of the Chase Literacy Program. Many thanks to everyone involved with these projects!