James Walker

Colonel James Walker (1846–1936) was an influential pioneer, military officer and founding citizen of Calgary, Alberta. He was a leading figure in the founding days of the North-West Mounted Police and a leading pioneer in Calgary's early history. His contributions to the growth of Calgary from a collection of huts outside a fort, to a thriving city, have been described as "incalculable."

Personal life James Walker was born in Carluke, Upper Canada in what is now known as Ontario on 14 April 1846. He married Euphemia "Effie" Davidson Quarrie in Galt, Ontario on 17 May 1876. They had one son.

Walker's reasonable treatment of the First Nations population gained him disfavour in Ottawa but was instrumental in keeping the peace between those peoples and the white settlers. Some criticized him for supplying food to hungry indigenous people in advance of their official rations. established a school district for Calgary, chaired the school board, directed the first general hospital and sat as president of several pioneer and police veteran associations between 1885 and 1919. He was also the first Boy Scout leader and founded the Calgary Agricultural Society, which later became the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede.

Legacy The Colonel James Walker House has been preserved by the City of Calgary as a historical site. An earlier school named Colonel James Walker was converted into a military museum in 1990.

In 1975, as part of the city of Calgary's centennial commemorations, the city declared him the "Citizen of the Century."