Palmer, Alaska, is in the center of the lush farmlands of the Matanuska Valley. It's 42 miles northeast of Anchorage on the Glenn Highway and about 10 miles east of Wasilla. The historic town's population is a little over 4,500.
Interesting facts Palmer is home to 200 musk oxen whose underwool (qiviut) is knitted into garments by Alaska Native women from 12 rural villages. Between 2,500 and 3,500 garments are created each year by these women and sold by an Anchorage cooperative. The 75-acre musk ox farm just east of town is also a tourist attraction.
The Valley is renowned for the annual Alaska State Fair, where local farmers produce large vegetables. And the average temperatures in January range from 4 to 21; in July, 44 to 67. Annual precipitation is 16.5 inches, with 50 inches of snowfall. Strong, often dusty winds arrive in winter from over the Chugach Range.
The city of Palmer was formed in 1951. Construction of the statewide road system, and the rapid development of Anchorage has fueled growth in the Mat-Su Valley. Palmer was established around 1916 as a railway station on the Matanuska Branch of the 203 families, mostly from Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, were invited to join the colony. They arrived in Palmer in the early summer of 1935. Although the failure rate was high, many of their descendants still live in the Mat-Su Valley today.
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