Alaskan History
“Barns in our landscape are sublime. Like a mountain or a river, they have existed there for so long that you can come to believe they will be there forever. But they will not.” Charles Bultman, Architect, in the National Barn Alliance publication, The Barn Journal
Venne barn, Springer Loop Road, 1935. [photo by Albert Marquez, 2013]
The 1935 Matanuska Colony Barns In his classic book, An Age of Barns, artist and author Eric Sloane wrote, “America has no noble ruins, for the old houses are torn down to make way for the new. But, fortunately, some of the old barns still remain--the only structures that are allowed the dignity of pleasing decay.” Today the Matanuska Valley draws worldwide attention for its uniquely orchestrated history and colorful agricultural heritage. The striking Matanuska Colony barn, often seen in local artwork and advertising, has become an iconic symbol of Matanuska Valley history. In 1935 the U.S. government devised a plan to colonize and develop a pioneering community in Alaska. In Matanuska Valley Memoir: The Story of How One Alaskan Community Developed, by Hugh A. Johnson and Keith L. Stanton, published in 1955 by the University of Alaska’s Agricultural Experiment Station in Palmer, the authors explained how the Colony Project brought 202 midwest farm
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