Louisa Flowers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Louisa Flowers
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Portrait of Louisa Flowers at age 23.
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Louisa Thatcher
1849 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Died | 1928 |
| Resting place | Lincoln Memorial Park, Portland Oregon |
| Monuments | Louisa Flowers Affordable Housing |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Occupation | farmer, land owner |
| Organization | NAACP, YWCA |
| Spouse(s) | Allen Ervin Flowers |
| Children | 4 |
Louisa Flowers (born 1849, died 1928) was an important leader and landowner in Portland, Oregon. She lived there for 45 years and helped her community a lot.
Early Life and Family
Louisa Thatcher was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1849. In 1882, she married Allen Ervin Flowers in Victoria, British Columbia. After their marriage, they moved to Portland.
Louisa and Allen had four sons: Lloyd, Elmer, Ralph, and Ervin. Allen Flowers worked at the U.S. Customshouse. He later became the main porter on the train route from Portland to Seattle.
Allen Ervin Flowers had an interesting past. He was once a cabin boy on a ship called the Brother Jonathan. In 1865, he left the ship when it was in port. He then joined the small but growing African American community in Portland.
Building a Community
When Louisa and Allen moved to Portland, the city had fewer than 500 African American residents. They bought a farm in the Lents area. There, they raised horses and grew raspberries. Their home became a meeting place for Portland's small Black community. They often hosted members from the three early Black churches in the city.
The Flowers family also bought and built several houses in the old Lower Albina Neighborhood. These properties were close to a building that was later named after Louisa. Allen Ervin Flowers even built a road on NE Schuyler Street. This made him Portland's first Black developer. He built the road so Louisa could safely push her baby's stroller to Union Avenue.
Community Involvement
Louisa Flowers played a key role in helping Portland's Black community grow on the east side of the Willamette River. She also helped develop the lower Albina area. Her family's leadership and success made them important figures in Portland's African American community.
Louisa was a member of the Bethel AME church's deaconess board. She was also a founding member of both the NAACP and the Williams Avenue YWCA. These groups work to support and empower people.
She was also part of the Rosebud Club, sometimes called the Old Rose Club. This was a club for Black women that later joined the Oregon Federation of Colored Women's Clubs. A big goal of the club was to raise money for scholarships. These scholarships helped young women go to college.
Legacy
Louisa Flowers passed away in 1928. She was buried at Lincoln Memorial Park in Portland, Oregon. She had lived in Portland for 45 years, making a lasting impact.
To honor her important work, the housing agency Home Forward named one of its buildings after her. This building, called the Louisa Flowers Apartments, is in the Lower Albina area. It is on land she once owned near NE First Avenue and NE Schuyler Street.
The Louisa Flowers Apartments are 12 stories tall. They help provide affordable homes for people who need them.
