Museum Displays
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at 11:18AM At the Palmer Museum, we have a series of displays that trace the history of habitation in the Matanuska Valley. Habitation began when the Ahtna Athabascans migrated to the valley and became the Chickaloon tribe. On display we have a traditional wedding dress, beaded moccasins, a copper cooking pot, and other articles from the Chickaloon tribe. Then history moves on to the mining days. George W. Palmer, who our town is named after, was the first white resident in the area, and was a prospector and merchant. On display, we have many of the tools used to mine coal north of Palmer in the Sutton area. The Matanuska Coloniztion Project follows the mining days. Palmer was born out of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal Program, which brought relief to Americans during the Great Depression. In 1935, 202 families were relocated to the Matanuska Valley to farm. On display we have many of the farming tools used by the colonists, including an old washing machine. The final piece of history covered by the museum displays concerns Matanuska Maid, the trade name for the items sold by the Matanuska Valley Farmers Cooperative Association. On display we have the orignal dress and bonnet worn by the Matanuska Maid.
