Vice President of the Kasilof Regional Historical Association, Alicia Morgan walks along the museum’s boat yard on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018, in kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Vice President of the Kasilof Regional Historical Association, Alicia Morgan walks along the museum’s boat yard on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018, in kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Kasilof Historical Museum open one last weekend before end of season

In Kasilof, everything revolves around the river. A visit to the Kasilof Historical Museum shows that it’s been that way for thousands of years.

From the early Alaska Native Dena’ina people to the cannery workers, fox farmers and commercial fisherman, the people of Kasilof are reliant on its waterway.

Driving too fast, passersby might miss the museum. It sits near the intersection of Kalifornsky Beach Road and the Sterling Highway and the first thing that greets visitors is an old, rusty road grader sitting near the road. Pulling in, a village of cabins, boats, equipment and other items of historical importance appear out of the foliage.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

“The way we are situated here, people drive so fast they don’t see us,” Alicia Morgan, vice president of the Kasilof Regional Historical Association and one of the museum docents, said.

Inside the main building, visitors can sign in and admire artifacts like beaded moccasins made by Dena’ina, ropes made from area roots, salmon cans with colorful vintage labels and more. The main building, called the McLane Center, was originally the infirmary for the Kasilof cannery. Built in 1882, the cannery was the second one built in the state and the first one built in western Alaska.

After it served its purpose for the cannery, the building became a schoolhouse in 1932. Kasilof resident Enid McLane was chosen to be the first teacher. She lived north of the Kasilof River and lived with her children at the school during the week to avoid crossing the river every single day after work. Visitors can read about how McLane had to cross the river in the spring by jumping from one ice chunk to another. When Tustumena School was constructed in 1959, the McLane Center became the community library.

There are eight historic buildings on the grounds, Morgan said. The Watchman’s House is one of the newer additions to the museum. The home was built in 1891 and used until the 1970s. After it was abandoned it was damaged by campers visiting it. In 2009, it was transported by trailer from the mouth of the Kasilof River to the museum to be preserved. Today, people can walk through the home, and other cabins on the grounds, and see what life might have been like at the time of its use.

One of the main attractions of the museum is what has been left behind from Kasilof’s fox farming days. In the 1920s, when the population was only around a dozen people, fox farming was the cash crop of the area. Fox farming has existed in Alaska since Russian colonization, and in Kasilof, the silver black fox was coveted for its look and feel in high fashion. There were seven fox farms along the Kasilof River between 1920 and 1940. Fox farming died out during the Great Depression, but can still be remembered at the museum, where people can peruse cabins and kennels used for the short-lived industry. Visitors can learn about how fencing on the farms had to go deep past the ground level, to keep the fox from escaping.

“The fox were diggers, and if they got away, there went your payday,” Morgan said.

When the museum is open, a small walking trail and outdoor placards help guide curious visitors through the maze of historic buildings. During open hours people can peruse the interior of these buildings, but in the wintertime, visitors can still peek through the windows and into the past.

“It’s more or less the locals’ playground in the wintertime, where people can come in and work on the exhibits,” Morgan said.

Because so many community members change and add exhibits in the wintertime, Morgan said every year the museum is a little bit different than the year before.

Morgan said the museum greets about 600 visitors a year, but that count comes from people that sign in. She said many more come when it’s closed and take the outdoor, self-guided tour. This is the last weekend the museum is open for the season. The museum is open from 1-4 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Reach Victoria Petersen at vpetersen@peninsulaclarion.com.

The Watchman’s House, which has been sitting near the mouth of the Kasilof River since 1891 and was damaged by campers after it was abandoned in the 1970s, now sits at the museum where it is being preserved on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

The Watchman’s House, which has been sitting near the mouth of the Kasilof River since 1891 and was damaged by campers after it was abandoned in the 1970s, now sits at the museum where it is being preserved on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

The museum has an array of old tools from the area that they plan to include in an exhibit on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

The museum has an array of old tools from the area that they plan to include in an exhibit on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Adam’s leaning wheel grader is the first thing drivers see from the road when passing by the Kasilof Historical Museum on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Adam’s leaning wheel grader is the first thing drivers see from the road when passing by the Kasilof Historical Museum on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Vice President of the Kasilof Regional Historical Association, Alicia Morgan walks through the museums self-guided tour on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Vice President of the Kasilof Regional Historical Association, Alicia Morgan walks through the museums self-guided tour on Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2018, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

More in Home

Kenai Vice Mayor Henry Knackstedt and Kenai City Council member Sovala Kisena share thoughts on Kenai’s parks and recreation facilities and programs during the kickoff for a development of a parks and recreation master plan in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai begins community conversation about parks and recreation master plan

The city is undertaking a yearlong process to create a guiding document for the next 20 years of outdoors and recreation development in the city.

Economist and research analyst Andy Wink presents “State of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Economy” during the Kenai Peninsula Economic Development District Industry Outlook Forum in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
KPEDD forum focuses on borough economy, vision for future

Where most economic indicators suggest fairly good health, housing appears to be a cause for concern, according to an economist presenting at forum.

Alaska State Troopers (file photo).
2 dead, 1 hospitalized in Nanwalek plane crash

The crash occurred near the airport Monday afternoon.

Shrubs grow outside of the Kenai Courthouse on Monday, July 3, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai man pleads guilty to 2019 sexual assault

The man was arrested Dec. 4, 2019, after a person reported several injuries at a local hospital.

State Sen. Löki Tobin (D-Anchorage) reviews an amendment on an education bill with other senators during a break in floor debate Monday at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Update: Effort to rush compromise education bill through Legislature hits snag due to ‘drafting error’

Bill returned to Senate, which passed it 19-1, to fix error in amendment; House vote expected by Wednesday

Kenai Central's Diego Huerta heads the ball in front of Nikiski defender Jayden Anderson and goalie Emily Brannen on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, at Ed Hollier Field at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Tuesday soccer: Kenai boys topple Nikiski; SoHi scores sweep in Homer

The Kenai boys soccer team defeated Nikiski 13-0 on Tuesday in Peninsula… Continue reading

Member Tom Tougas speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Tourism Industry Working Group in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Tourism working group gets 2-month extension

In a 3-3 vote, the working group had earlier this month rejected a draft document with proposed recommendations.

Kenai's Central's Jacob Joanis and Braden Smith celebrate a victory over Soldotna on Monday, April 28, 2025, at the Soldotna Little League fields in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Monday: Smith pitches Kenai Central baseball past Soldotna

The Kenai Central baseball team defeated Soldotna 4-3 on Monday in Northern… Continue reading

Students of Sterling Elementary School carry a sign in support of their school during a special meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
District adopts budget with severe cuts, school closures

The preliminary budget assumes a $680 increase in per-student funding from the state.

Most Read