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George Palmer report by Caitlin Sult
presented to the Palmer revitalization Open house.
The city of Palmer was named after George W. Palmer. The first name was
Farmington ,this name was rejected by Post office officials because there were too
many other Farmingtons in the US. Grangeville was suggested but that name had no local support. Valley city and warton were other names used for Palmer
On September 6, 1916 the Anchorage Times Newspaper had a contest to name the town at mile 42.9 on the Alaska Railroad.
George Palmer had the first self service grocery store-in the Matanuska area. Customers would leave money for products that were left in boxes at the store. He also had many other businesses in the valley including an early days mall in Knik. 14 buildings that contained stores and warehouses were sheltered by walkways that protected his customers from the weather. George had 2 brothers and 2 sisters. He had a daughter Annie Dennise.
We are here tonight to ask that George Palmer be remembered and honored in some way.
Caity Sult
Writting 6/02
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