Palmer, Alaska, United States

🇺🇸 Palmer is a city in and the borough seat of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska. It is part of the Anchorage Metropolitan Statistical Area. The National Tsunami Warning Center is located in Palmer.

History 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 city tent 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.

In addition to an agrarian heritage, the colony families brought with them Midwest America's small-town values, institutional structures, and a well-planned city centre reminiscent of their old hometowns in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Many of the structures built are now in a nationally recognised historic district. Construction of the statewide road system and the rapid development of Anchorage has fueled growth around Palmer. Many Palmer residents commute 45 minutes to work in Anchorage.

Geography Palmer is 42 miles (68 km) north-east of Anchorage on the Glenn Highway. It lies on the north shore of the Matanuska River, not far above tidewater, in a wide valley between the Talkeetna Mountains to the north and the Chugach Mountains to the south and east. Pioneer Peak rises over 6,000 feet (1,800 m) above the town, just a few miles south. East of Palmer is Lazy Mountain, and standing behind that is Matanuska Peak. Lazy Mountain, Matanuska Peak, and Pioneer Peak are all a part of the Chugach Range. North of Palmer are the Talkeetna Mountains. Hatcher Pass, a local favorite for hiking, skiing and other recreational activities, is located in this mountain range about 22 mi (35 km) from Palmer.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.8 square miles (9.8 km²), all of it land. Palmer and Wasilla are the two major old-town cores of the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. Population of the area has grown dramatically in the past decade.

Apart from road access, Palmer can be accessed by the Palmer Municipal Airport and the Palmer Depot of the Alaska Railroad. Neither of these have regularly scheduled service. However, when the Alaska State Fair operates, the Alaska Railroad operates a special train from Anchorage to Palmer (though it did not operate in 2021).

Alaska State Fair Palmer is most noted in Alaska as the location of the annual Alaska State Fair, where Palmer's agricultural spirit lives on. The Alaska State Fair holds contests for largest vegetable in several categories, and many national and even world records have been recorded at the fair, with the cabbage, radish, spinach and lettuce categories usually dominating local interest. There are rides and festivities, local artists on display, local venders and food trucks, and popular musical artists at the ConcoPhilips Borealis Theatre. In 2008, Scott Robb of Palmer won 1st place and a $2,000 prize for his 79.1 lb (35.9 kg) cabbage.

Palmer Museum of History and Art Palmer hosts a log cabin Visitor Information Center in the heart of downtown that entertains more than 35,000 visitors each year. Each summer, the visitor centre employs a full-time gardener to maintain the 2 acres (8,100 m²) of public gardens that showcase more than 600 locally grown plant varieties. The Palmer Museum of History and Art is located in the Visitor Information Center and offers visitors a chance to view artifacts from Palmer's history, provides maps to historical places to see and stocks guidebooks for more information on local attractions.

The Church of a Thousand Trees A couple of blocks away from the Visitor Information Center is the United Protestant Church (aka The Church of a Thousand Trees), a Presbyterian church. It was built in 1936–37 and is one of the 17 structures that contribute to the National Register's Matanuska Colony Historic District.

Friday Fling The Friday Fling is a local downtown Palmer event that takes place around the public library and train depot.

Parks and protected areas Twelve miles north of Palmer is Hatcher Pass, a scenic mountainous pass. It has been established as a state park and is the home of the Independence Mine. It serves as a local back-country area for skiers, snowboarders, snowmachiners, and hikers as well as a tourist attraction in the summer months.

The area is also home to the Kepler-Bradley Lakes State Recreation Area, which grants access to numerous small lakes, the Finger Lake State Recreation Area, and a number of city parks.

Sport The Mat-Su Miners, a franchise in the Alaska Baseball League, a high-level summer collegiate baseball league, play their games at Hermon Brothers Field on the State Fairgrounds. Colony High School bands play pep rally music, and different venders get together to bring a large crowd to support. With Division I collegiate players from all over the United States, the Miners have twice captured the coveted National Baseball Congress championship, in 1987 and 1997. Alaska Raceway Park is a nearby dragstrip. The Valley Steelers, a semi-pro football team within the Alaska Football League, play their home games at Palmer High School.

Education Primary and secondary education in Palmer is a part of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District. Within city limits, there are two elementary schools (Swanson Elementary and Sherrod Elementary), one middle school (Palmer Jr. Middle School) and one high school (Palmer High School).

Palmer High is of a modest size, with about 900 students and approximately 60 staff members. In 1999, It became the first school in Alaska to offer the International Baccalaureate program. About ten minutes from Palmer are "cross-town" rivals, Colony Middle School and Colony High School.

Palmer is also home to Alaska Bible College, the state's only accredited school of theology and ministry, and Matanuska-Susitna College, an extended college of the University of Alaska Anchorage.

The Palmer Alaska Job Corps is at 800 E. Lynn Martin Drive, across from the Hageland airfield.

The Ya Ne Dah Ah School (YNDA School), operated by the Athabascan Nation Chickaloon Village, uses Alaska Native methods to teach children. It was established in 1992. It is funded with grant money. In 2012 the school did not receive an annual grant which would allow it to fund Athna language and cultural programs, and it failed to receive Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) funds since the BIA had a 1995 rule preventing it from funding Alaska Native programs.