Wasilla Historic Town Site

Old Wasilla Townsite
Local historians were quick to realize how much of the town's history was being lost to development, so they made an early and wise effort to preserve several cherished structures, including Wasilla's 1917 one room school house, the Herning-Teeland-Mead house, the Paddy Marion cabin, Walter Trensch cabin, Shorty Gustafson barn, the Blacksmith shop, a sauna bath house and the Capitol Site building. Behind the Dorothy G. Page Museum the buildings are attractively situated on lots laid out in the original 1917 Townsite and open to the public 5 days a week from May through September.

Herning-Teeland-Mead House
Built in 1936 by Mr. and Mrs. Herning, this wood frame house was the first house in Wasilla to have indoor plumbing. Mrs. Herning never cared for the house and chose to live at the back of the store which they ran. Basically, the house was used as a rest area until 1947 when Mr. Herning died and his wife sold the house and store to the Teelands. The Teeland family owned the house and ran the store until 1972 when they sold them to the Meads. Today the house sits in the Old Wasilla Townsite Park and the store is now operated as Mead's Coffeehouse.

Capitol Site Cabin
When the people of Alaska voted to move the Capitol from Juneau to Willow in the early 1970s, former governor Jay Hammond stated that he would move into a tent at the new Capitol site. Many people thought a more appropriate structure should be provided. Hence, a fund raising effort was undertaken to build the first structure on the new Capitol site. The Capitol Site Cabin has been relocated as a reminder of the Capitol move effort.

Paddy Marion Cabin
Paddy Marion was a well-known prospector and miner in the Willow Creek Mining District for over 50 years. Paddy and his twin sister ran the Twin Marion Mine in the Hatcher Pass area. He lived in this cabin which was originally located across from the Dorothy G. Page Museum.

Bath House
This sauna was built to scale from the original which was owned by Rose and Oscar Johnson. Wasilla residents would hold meetings in the sauna and basically used it as a community facility.

Shorty Gustafson Barn
This barn was the home and work place of long-time Wasilla resident Shorty Gustafson. He was known for his woodwork and craftsmanship. Shorty had a great sense of humor and was a bit of a musician.

Blacksmith Shop
This log barn was originally located on the lot behind Wasilla's first log structured library and belonged to Nels Larson. Tools commonly used in Wasilla's early days are featured within the structure.

Walter Trensch Cabin
Walter Trensch was an early day railroad worker who lived in this cabin adjacent to Blodgett Lake. His house was a frequent gathering point for the Wasilla Boy Scouts to hold their meetings because they could camp on the lake.

Old Wasilla School House
The school house was built in 1917 and was one of Wasilla's earliest permanent buildings. It was completed in just under four months. It needed six students to officially be declared as a working school and the town only had five. Pat Hjellen, who later became one of Wasilla's Mayors, was sent to school at the age of two so that Wasilla could open its first official school of six students.