Homer, AK - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

Homer, Alaska was mentioned in the guide as a stop along a steamer route from Seward to the Aleutian Islands. At the time, the village was tiny, though the guide mentioned that Homer would grow due to the settlement of farmers on the peninsula, nearby. Today, Homer is still a modest, but important community that is home to a fishing fleet, as well as artists, and is a major stop on the Alaska Marine Highway.

Homer as Written in the Guide

Across the bay [from Seldovia] is Homer (p.o., 207pop. est. 1938). Gold, copper, and coal are found in the vicinity, and there is much fishing and fur raising. Its population (35) as listed by the census of 1930 gives no hint of its growing importance. By 1937, 150 farmers had arrived in this fertile valley, and many more applications were on file. The Alaska Cooperative Association was planning to install 200 families in the area. Even before the arrival of these new settlers, the town provided a living for a scattering of farmers and had eighteen miles of road and a telephone system with thirty-five subscribers. Much of the land is treeless, all of it fertile, and most of it easy to cultivate. Almost unbelievable stories of bumper crops find their backing in the sober records of farmers in the settlement. The Methodist orphanage of Seward took over a farm at Homer in 1936, and cut sixty tons of wild hay, in addition to raising a large quantity of potatoes and garden truck. One Seattle produce house has a standing offer for Homer turnips at a premium of a cent a pound higher than Seattle prices.

A large coal deposit on the reefs now provides fuel for two schools already in the settlement. Farmers boast of the climate. Official "weather reports for Homer during January, 1936, showed eleven consecutive days when the temperature was above 40 degrees. Only one frost was reported for the month. There were five inches of rain. February first found pussy willows in bloom and wild celery sprouting, grass green and strawberry plants beginning to grow — this in a February that found even the mild coast of Oregon and Washington fighting an unprecedentedly cold season, and the Middle West, from which most of the Homer farmers have come, literally buried in snow. The completion of the highway already half built between Seward and Homer might settle the question of transporting the produce of a large farming colony. If it is completed the government will have made another step in its agricultural development of the Territory. If it isn't — there is still room for the agricultural pioneer. Once one of the great trapping regions of Alaska, the country near Homer has seen, with the settling of the country in the last two decades, depletion and, in some cases, extermination of the more valuable fur bearers. Marten has become extinct, the fox is extremely rare, and mink, beaver, and otter are much less numerous than a generation ago.

-- Alaska: A Guide to the Last American Frontier, p. 317-318.

Homer Today

Homer, today, is a community of about 5,400 people mostly located along the bluff and the lowland by the bay. The primary economy comes from fishing and tourism. One of several nicknames for Homer is "The Halibut Fishing Capital of the World." At the time of visiting (Sept 2010), Homer was holding the Halibut Fishing Derby. But, there are artist galleries, gift shops and restaurants all about town. One distinguishing characteristic of Homer is the Homer Spit, a 4 plus mile extension of land that is where much of the commerce, including water taxis and the ferry, is located. Homer is also connected by highway via the Sterling Highway, which connects to the Seward Highway, providing access to Seward and Anchorage.

According the the Chamber of Commerce web site for Homer, homeralaska.org, coal was important to Homer, but demand for coal fell away, even as the book was published. Fishing surpassed coal as a leading economic income source. Gold prospecting was never profitable. Farming does still exist around Homer, but it does not appear to be a large source of income.

The waymark is located at one of the buildings that existed at the time that the book was published. This building was known as the counting house, and it was a grocery store. This building has recently been renovated and is again a general store.

Source:
Wikipedia (Homer, AK):
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Homeralaska.org
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Americantowns.com (Homer Local Food):
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Book: Alaska Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 317-318 Year Originally Published: 1939

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Date Logged Log User Rating   06/01/2013 The_Firefly visited it