Colony House Museum

Palmer Historical Society presents the Colony House Museum! 203 families were chosen by the US government to make a journey to Alaska - a chance for a new beginning. A chance to make a home and provide for their families by farming in the Matanuska Valley. In Palmer, Alaska, on May 23, 1935, the Colonists from Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota selected their 40-acre tract by drawing their lots. Soon the land was being cleared and houses, barns, outhouses, pumphouses, and chicken coops were being built. The town of Palmer was becoming established. The Colony House Museum tells the story of those brave families. Step back in time, imagine yourself as a colonist, a homemaker, a child in the 1930's, new to Alaska, far away from everything and everyone you know. Learn how the families prospered, and why many didn't. Take a walk around the historic district and discover the buildings that were built as part of this 1935 New Deal community. Admission is by Donation