Palmer, Alaska
| Palmer, Alaska | |
|---|---|
| City | |
Palmer depot with a narrow gauge locomotive.
|
|
| Motto: "Alaska at Its Best" | |
 Location in Matanuska-Susitna Borough and the state of Alaska. |
|
| Coordinates: 61°36′07″N 149°07′02″W / 61.60194°N 149.11722°WCoordinates: 61°36′07″N 149°07′02″W / 61.60194°N 149.11722°W | |
| Country |
 America
|
| State |
 Alaska
|
| Borough | Matanuska-Susitna |
| Incorporated | April 30, 1951 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Edna DeVries |
| • State senator | Shelley Hughes (R) |
| • State rep. | DeLena Johnson (R) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 9.7 km2 (3.8 sq mi) |
| • Land | 9.7 km2 (3.8 sq mi) |
| • Water | 0.0 km2 (0.0 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 71 m (233 ft) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 5,937 |
| • Density | 612.1/km2 (1,562.3/sq mi) |
| Time zone | Alaska (AKST) (UTC-9) |
| • Summer (DST) | AKDT (UTC-8) |
| ZIP code | 99645 |
| Area code | 907 |
| FIPS code | 02-58660 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1407737 |
| Website | www |
Palmer is the borough seat of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is part of the Anchorage Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 5,937.
The first people to live in the Matanuska Valley, where Palmer is located, were the Dena'ina and Ahtna Athabaskans. They moved throughout the area, living a subsistence lifestyle and trading with other native groups. Their trade routes were along the Matanuska River. Russians came to Alaska in 1741 and brought the Russian Orthodox religious tradition to the indigenous peoples of the region. In the early 1890s, an entrepreneur named George W. Palmer built a trading post on the Matanuska River, near present-day Palmer. The town was later named after Palmer.
In the late 19th century, the U.S. government began to take interest in the Matanuska coal fields located north of Palmer. This interest sparked financiers to consider constructing the Alaska Central Railroad in 1904. The advent of World War I created a need for high quality coal to fuel U.S. battleships, and by 1917 the US Navy had constructed rail from the port of Seward to the Chickaloon coal deposits. At the end of World War I, the U.S. Navy distributed land in the coal fields to war veterans and additional land was opened to homesteading. Farmers, miners and homesteaders began to populate the area. The Palmer Post Office was opened July 6, 1917 under the name of Warton. With railroad accessibility, new markets for agriculture began to open up for farmers in the Matanuska Valley.
In one year, Palmer transformed from a mere whistle stop rail siding to a planned community with modern utilities and community services. Eleven million dollars from Federal Emergency Relief Administration was spent to create the town of Palmer and relocate 203 families from the hard hit Iron Range region of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Families traveled by train and ship to Palmer, arriving in May 1935. Upon their arrival they were housed in a tent city during their first Alaskan summer. Each family drew lots for 40-acre (160,000 m2) tracts and their farming adventure began in earnest. The failure rate was high, but many of their descendants still live in the area and there are still many operating farms in the Palmer area, including the Vanderwheele and Wolverine farms. In 1971, the National Outdoor Leadership School started operating wilderness education courses in the nearby Talkeetna and Chugach mountain ranges from a local historic farmhouse, the Berry House, which is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
...
Wikipedia