Boian, Alberta facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Boian
Unincorporated community
Boian, Alberta Location in Alberta
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta
Region	Central Alberta
Census Division	10
Municipal district	County of Two Hills No. 21
Founded	19th century
Highways	45 857

Boian is an unincorporated community in Alberta, Canada. It is located in the floodplain of the North Saskatchewan River, 6 km east of Willingdon, in County of Two Hills No. 21. It is the oldest Romanian settlement in Canada.

History

The community was named for Boian, the Romanian village in Bukovina, from where the settlers originated. In the fall of 1903, the community built a Romanian Orthodox Church, named by locals like the one in their homeland, St Mary Orthodox Church. It was completed in the summer of 1905. By the year 1909, the need of a Romanian language school became more accentuated, and a small building was constructed in 1910, including almost all the subjects taught in Romania at the time.

The Romanians of Boian later encouraged their relatives from Edmonton or Calgary to move there, due to the fertile farmland, the lakes and forests.

Today, the Romanian school is a museum showcasing Romanian immigration in Alberta, photos of the first Romanian settlers in the area and the typical Romanian farmer's life in rural Canada. As well, the house of the local family Yurko has been moved to the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village where it portrays the similarities and differences between Ukrainian Canadian and Romanian Canadian culture.