Willis Reese Bowen (February 6, 1875 – 1975) was one of the first settlers in

Amber Valley, Alberta Amber Valley is an unincorporated community in northern Alberta, Canada, approximately north of Edmonton. Its elevation is . Originally named Pine Creek, Amber Valley was among several Alberta communities settled in the early 20th century by early ...

. His home,

Obadiah Place Obadiah Place is a historic site in Amber Valley, Alberta. It was the homestead of Willis Reese Bowen and later the home of his son Obadiah Bowen, a pastor for the town. Willis (sometimes spelled Willace) Reese Bowen brought his family and four o ...

, is a historic site. Bowen was born in

Butler County, Alabama Butler County is a county located in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,051. Its county seat is Greenville. Its name is in honor of Captain William Butler, who was born in Vir ...

, and was one of a group of black Americans who moved from Oklahoma to Canada in 1911, filing for homesteads north of Edmonton and east of Athabasca Landing. They were responding to the government's encouragement of new settlers in Alberta. Bowen organized the original group of five families who moved from Oklahoma. Others, like Bowen, had left the South after emancipation and Reconstruction, moving to Oklahoma for what they hoped would be better conditions. Bowen originally settled in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada, with his wife Jeanie (Gregory) Bowen and their children. Bowen hauled gravel by horse team, earning $25 per day. The family had little money and the oldest child, Mary, abandoned her plans of becoming a teacher in order to work as a maid and help support the family. Their baby girl developed a common coastal bacterial infection, suffering severe diarrhea, and died in 1912. The family and their eight children moved inland to Amber Valley, Alberta. Their children included Boadie Bowen (1900–1981) and Elrene Bowen (1909–1936). In Amber Valley, Bowen homesteaded. He also worked as a freighter who hauled goods from Athabasca to Lac La Biche and Wabasca. He also worked on a ranch in Saskatchewan, in a packing plant in Edmonton, and on Alberta grain farms. His eldest daughters also contributed to the family income by working as domestic workers in Athabasca and Edmonton. Jean died in 1932 and Willis Bowen died in 1975 in

. His grandson,

Oliver Bowen Oliver Bowen (December 21, 1942 – January 1, 2000) was a Canadian engineer who managed the design and construction of the first line of Calgary's light rail transit system: the CTrain. The City of Calgary acknowledged his engineering work by na ...

, became an engineer and designed the

CTrain CTrain (previously branded C-Train) is a light rail rapid transit system in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Most of the network functions as a light metro, though in the free-fare zone that runs through the downtown core the Red and Blue lines opera ...

Homestead

Bowen homesteaded

(Bowen Residence) in 1913. His original log cabin became a community meeting place, post office, and site of the first telephone. It was recognized as an Alberta historic site in 1999. In 1938, his son

Obadiah Bowen Obadiah Bowen (born May 16, 1907, Lincoln County, Oklahoma, USA; d. Apr. 7, 2004, Athabasca, Alberta, Canada) was one of the original settlers to Amber Valley, Alberta, as well as a pastor and community leader. He was one of the first Black settler ...

replaced the cabin, building a house in its place. Obadiah was pastor at an interdenominational church. He donated the land for it in 1953, located about a half mile from the house.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, Willis Reese People from Amber Valley, Alberta Black Canadian people People from Butler County, Alabama American emigrants to Canada 1875 births 1975 deaths