The Knik Site, ( Dena'ina: ''K'enakatnu'') also known as the Old Knik Townsite, is the location in

Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska Matanuska-Susitna Borough (often referred to as the Mat-Su Borough) is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. Its county seat is Palmer, and the largest community is the census-designated place of Knik-Fairview. The borough is part of ...

that was once home to the largest settlement on

Cook Inlet Cook Inlet ( tfn, Tikahtnu; Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage. On its sou ...

. The only surviving remnants of the community are a former log roadhouse, now a museum operated by the Wasilla-Knik Historical Society, and a log cabin. The Knik area had long been a meeting point of Native Alaskans, and in 1898 it became the principal community on Cook Inlet from which goods were shipped into the interior. In 1916 the

Alaska Railroad Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

reached the site of present-day

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

, bypassing Knik and leading to Anchorage's growth. When the railroad reached

Wasilla Wasilla ( Dena'ina: ''Benteh'') is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, United States and the fourth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the ...

, Knik lost all importance as a transshipment point, and its buildings were either abandoned or moved to one of the other communities. Knik is located about southwest of Wasilla. The two surviving buildings were listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1973.

References

External links

Wasilla-Knik Historical Society Museums
Ghost towns in Alaska History museums in Alaska Museums in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska Log buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska Populated places on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska Denaʼina Ghost towns in the United States Ghost towns in North America Towns in the United States {{MatanuskaSusitnaAK-geo-stub

See also

References

External links