The District townsite is located in the Pine Valley where the Rocky Mountain Foothills open onto a small agricultural belt (little prairie) to the east. The townsite elevation varies between 585 (1919 ft) and 690 metres (2262 ft) above sea level. The northern edge of the town is adjacent to the foot of "Ol' Baldy", a hill which rises another 210 metres (689 ft) to over 900 metres (2953 ft) above the existing town centre. From there you can see a commanding view of the valley and nearby mountains.

Chetwynd was first called "Little Prairie" by First Nations People passing from Moberly Lake to hunt in the Sukunka Valley. Fur traders came to the area of Little Prairie as early as 1778 following the water routes and pack trails of the day. The remnants of these trails can still be seen with a keen eye.

Early homesteaders in the present site of Chetwynd

By 1919 a log cabin, built on the site just north of the present railyards, opened as a small Trading Post. This attracted a number of others to build around it.

Early development in Chetwynd. The building with the false front now houses our museum.

With the arrival of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (P.G.E.), it was decided to name the bustling town after Mr. Ralph Chetwynd, a director of the P.G.E. Railway and a pioneer of British Columbia who had an undying faith in the potential of the Peace River Country, and so Little Prairie became Chetwynd.