Amber Valley, Alberta
Encyclopedia
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.
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.
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, about 100 miles north of the capital Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
. 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 African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
settlers led by Parson H. Sneed, a clergyman and mason, settled in an area by the Athabasca River
Athabasca River
The Athabasca River originates from the Columbia Glacier of the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada...
. 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
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
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
Northern Alberta
Northern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.Its primary industry is oil and gas, with large heavy oil reserves being exploited at the Athabasca Oil Sands and Wabasca Area in the east of the region...
. Amber Valley was the largest community of black people
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
in Alberta until the 1930s.