Amber Valley, Alberta
Amber Valley | |
|---|---|
Unincorporated | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  Alberta |
| Region | Northern Alberta |
| Census division | 13 |
| Municipal district | Athabasca County |
| Government | |
| • Reeve | Doris Splane |
| • Governing body | Athabasca County Council
|
| Time zone | UTC-7 (MST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
| Website | www |
Amber Valley is an unincorporated community in Alberta, Canada, about 100 miles north of the capital Edmonton. Its elevation is 1,995 ft. Originally named Pine Creek, Amber Valley was among several Alberta communities settled by early black immigrants to the province. Location of Obadiah Place heritage site.
History
In 1909, a group of 160[2] African American settlers led by Parson H. Sneed, a clergyman and mason, settled in an area by the Athabasca River. For the first few years it was difficult for them. They had to cut out an area for planting crops and building houses. The climate is not what they were used to since they came from areas like Oklahoma which had milder winters. The settlers were tough as was their surrounding and three quarters of them stayed.
They built a school house in 1913 and a nondenominational church in 1914. They had a baseball team that was widely known in the north. Amber Valley was the largest community of black people in Alberta until the 1930s.
Beginning in the 1950s, many descendants of the original settlers began moving to near cities such as Edmonton to escape rural life. In Edmonton, many Amber Valley descendants founded the Shiloh Baptist Church, one of few black churches in Western Canada.[3]
Popular Interest
- The community was the subject of the 1984 documentary film We Remember Amber Valley, directed by Selwyn Jacob.[4]
- The setting of Aster in Esi Edugyan's debut novel, The Second Life of Samuel Tyne, is based upon the settlement.[5]
References
- ^ "Municipal Officials Search". Alberta Municipal Affairs. May 9, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
- ^ Boyle and District Historical Society (1982). Forests, furrows and faith : a history of Boyle and districts. Boyle. p. 27.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ http://www.edmontonexaminer.com/2012/02/09/102-year-old-church-a-unique-piece-of-edmontons-history
- ^ Turner, Patricia (27 December 2011). "Exclusive interview with Selwyn Jacob: The Producer of the documentary on Harry Jerome". Mega Diversities. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
- ^ http://www.randomhouse.ca/authors/57816/esi-edugyan#
External links
- Alberta Online Encyclopedia: Alberta's Black Pioneer Heritage
- Alberta Online Encyclopedia: Alberta's Black Pioneer Heritage – Amber Valley
- Athabasca Country Tourism
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