The Matanuska Colony Community Center, also Palmer Historic District, is a cluster of buildings near the center of

Palmer, Alaska Palmer (Ahtna: ''Nił'etse'it'aade'' or ''Nuutah''; Dena'ina: ''Denal'i Kena'') is a city in and the borough seat of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States, located northeast of Anchorage on the Glenn Highway in the Matanuska ...

that were the centerpiece of the Depression-era Matanuska Valley Colony. This federal rural resettlement program was intended to give needy families resources and land to improve their condition. The colony's buildings were erected beginning in 1935, and those that survive represent a well-preserved example of government community planning. It is centered on a city block bounded by East Dahlia Avenue, South Valley Way, South Denali Street, and East Elmwood Avenue, and extends to the north and south. The buildings on this block are organized around a grassy quadrangle, laid out in 1935. Prominent buildings include the

Palmer Depot The Palmer Depot is a historic train station at South Valley Way and Evergreen Avenue in Palmer, Alaska. It is a large three-section single story frame structure, built in 1935 to provide transportation services to the newly established Matanusk ...

and three churches, located in the block just southeast of the quadrangle, one of which, the

United Protestant Church A united church, also called a uniting church, is a church formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations. Historically, unions of Protestant churches were enforced by the state ...

, is a distinctive log structure. The colony's Central School, now added to several times, houses the offices of the

Matanuska-Susitna Borough Matanuska-Susitna Borough (often referred to as the Mat-Su Borough) is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. Its county seat is Palmer, and the largest community is the census-designated place of Knik-Fairview. The borough is part o ...

. The area was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

in 1991.

Demographics

The Matanuska Valley Colony Community Center was returned on the 1940 U.S. Census as the Alaska Railroad Colony Community Center (unincorporated). It had a population of 94. It has since been annexed into the city of Palmer.

References

Buildings and structures completed in 1940 Buildings and structures in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska {{Alaska-NRHP-stub

Demographics

See also

References