Hotels in Palmer, Alaska

A little about Palmer...

Palmer began in 1916 as a railway station on the Matanuska branch of the Alaska Railroad. In 1935, during the Great Depression, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal projects, established the Matanuska Colony. From Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, 203 families traveled by train and ship to reach the fledgling colony, arriving in the summer of 1935. 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. The failure rate was high, but many of their descendants still live in the area. 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. Construction of the statewide road system and the rapid development of Anchorage has fueled growth around Palmer. Many Palmer residents commute to work in Anchorage. These days, Palmer is most noted in Alaska as the location of the annual Alaska State Fair, an event in the early fall known for its record-setting giant cabbages, among other attractions.

Palmer hosts an historic log cabin Visitor Center in the heart of downtown that entertains more than 35,000 visitors each year. The visitor center has a two acre showcase garden and lawn that is the perfect place to have a picnic. The Palmer Museum of History and Art is located in the Visitor Center and offers visitors chance to view artifacts from Palmer's history and learn about how the town came to be. Palmer is also home to many public and private schools, such as Palmer High.