Palmer Depot - Palmer, Alaska
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 61° 35.988 W 149° 06.830
6V E 387847 N 6831418
Historic former railroad depot in Palmer, Alaska.
Waymark Code: WM9GHH
Location: Alaska, United States
Date Posted: 08/18/2010
Views: 6
"Construction of this facility in 1935 and its enlargment in 1948 reflect the significance of the Alaska Railroad as the main artery of transportation in relationship to two epochal occurrences in the life of the valley. The first event was the arrival of the Matanuska Valley colonists in 1935. The second event was the increasing role of the valley in relationship to Anchorage following World War II, both as a place of residence and as a source of agricultural products.
Land in the Matanuska Valley was opened for homesteading in 1914, including some in the area of what later became the town of Palmer. Most of those who filed claims did so on speculation that their land would be along the route to be chosen for construction of the Alaska Railroad. In the absence of a railroad the difficulty of transportation was virtually insuperable: the cost of bringing in supplies and equipment was ruinous, and there was no way to transport produce to market.
When the railroad construction did get under way, the main line ran about 6.5 miles from Palmer, and a branch line was built to Palmer. Some homesteaders continued to work their ground and ultimately took fee simple title to their claims. Most, however, found the going too tough, and departed for greener fields. In most cases it was not possible to produce enough from the land itself to survive and live. Anchorage did not itself develop and grow so rapidly as was required to produce a stable market for agricultural products. Growth in the area, from 1916 until 1935 was slow.
In 1935 a social experiment of the New Deal changed the course of the Valley. In May 1935 an armada of colonists, selected and subsidized by the federal government, arrived at Palmer to take claim to land as cooperative homesteaders. This was one of several social experiments at the time, in which government agencies planned and executed relocation of groups of people from an economically depressed environment to one in which, hopefully, they could establish an economically successful life, individually and as a community.
The activity resulting from establishment of this experimental community created the need for a transportation depot at this place on the railroad. The depot and warehouse structure was constructed in the fall of 1935 in response to this demand. The structure is physical evidence of the development of Palmer in consequence of the Matanuska Valley colonization of 1935." - National Register Nomination form
The depot now serves a community center for Palmer. The railroad no longer runs through Palmer and the tracks have been removed.