History:

The City of Palmer is located in the striking Matanuska Valley of Southcentral Alaska, between the Chugach and Talkeetna mountain ranges. The city's history and heritage are unique in Alaska. In 1935, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, one of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal projects, established the Matanuska Colony.

From the drought starved Midwest, 203 families traveled by train and ship to reach the fledgling colony. Upon their arrival they were housed in a tent city during their first Alaskan summer. Each family drew lots for 40 acre tracts and their farming adventure began in earnest.

While the colonists had varying degress of success with farming, Palmer is the only Alaskan Community that developed from an agricultural lifestyle. In addition to an agrarian heritage, the colony families brought with them small town values, institutional structures, and a well planned city center. Many of the structures built are now in a nationally recognized historic district.