Exhibits and Collections

Temporary Gallery
The first gallery to greet you upon entering the museum.  This area hosts a variety of traveling exhibits throughout the year about local, state and national history.  Exhibits change seasonally. 

Downstairs Gallery
Travel down into an old mine as you wind your way toward the downstairs gallery.  Here, look back at life in the Willow Creek Mining District.  In 1906, Robert Lee Hatcher staked the first claim near Independence Mine located in the Talkeetna Mountain range.  View objects used by miners as they burrowed their way to gold!

After viewing the diorama of Independence Mine, stop for a while and choose from a selection of videos about mining, the Iditarod, the railroad and life in the Mat-Su Valley. 

Upstairs Gallery
Follow the history of Wasilla in this gallery.  Begin at the Knik Trading Co. exhibit.  This recreation of local miner and entrepreneur O.G. Herning's trading post recounts the early days of Knik and Wasilla before the railroad. 

Wasilla became an active town as the railroad brought more miners, businesses and families to the area.  See how they lived while building the railroad and town.  Visit Wasilla's first post office exhibt and see original mailboxes and sorting table.

Before the miners and Russian fur traders, native Den'iana Athabascans lived in the Matanuska-Susitna valley.  See examples of their clothing, tools and art in this exhibit in the gallery. 

The Iditarod is a large part of life in Alaska.  Come learn about Iditarod founders Joe Reddington Sr. and Dorothy G. Page who worked hard to save a part of Alaska's history.  Based on the 1925 Serum Run into Nome, the present day Iditarod celebrates those courageous dogs and their mushers who brought life saving serum to the children of Nome.  View wooden dog sleds used in the local area, necklaces and pins from past Iditarod races and other racing and mushing paraphenalia.

Many miners who came to the area for fortune and fame ended up becoming homesteaders.  View a slice of Americana as objects of the past tell the story of life in Wasilla in the mid-1900s.  End your trip through history with the miniature diorama of Wasilla's main street and train depot in the 1920s. 

Historic Town Site
After visiting the museum, step into history in the town site where eight structures await.  Discover more about the people and history of Wasilla.  Click here to find out more about the town site.