| What makes it historical? |
In 1916, forty-three years before Alaska would become a state, President Woodrow Wilson declared Talkeetna to be the Engineering Commission Headquarters for the Alaskan railroad, connecting Seward to Fairbanks! This railroad would provide easy transportation for miners and food across great distances! It took 19 hours to travel between Talkeetna and Anchorage!
The town takes its name from the Den’aina word for “place where food is stored near the river. Today, you can visit some of its earliest buildings, like the Nagley store, opened in 1916 by Horace Nagley, or the house of his employee, Tom Weatherell, who arrived to mine in 1921! There’s also the Three German Bachelors Cabin, founded by Frank Moennikes, who had just escaped the German draft for World War II (lucky him!), and the brothers, Tony and Henry Meise. All three mined for gold near here!
Nowadays, Talkeetna’s most famous resident isn’t a miner at all! It’s Stubbs the cat, who was elected honorary mayor of Talkeetna in 1997 and has held the position ever since! In the polarized world of politics, may the best “catidate” win! |
