Herning-Teeland-Mead Store

In 1898, Orville G. Herning arrived in Knik Alaska hired by the Klondike & Boston Company to open a trail to the Willow Creek Mining District. He staked many gold claims and became an influential early resident of Knik. He built the Knik Trading Co. in 1905 and operated it in Knik until 1917. When the railroad was built bypassing Knik through Wasilla, Knik lost importance as a trading area. O.G. Herning then moved his business to Wasilla and was named Herning's Store. He died in 1947 and his wife sold the store to the Teelands who ran it until 1972 who then sold it to the Meads. They stayed in business until 1986 when it closed. The building has since been moved 400 feet, restored, and is now a bistro/cafe. The writing on the side says Herning's Place - Everything for Everybody. I guess it was the Walmart of it's time. It is one of only a handful of buildings in Wasilla that are in the National Historic Register. This is about as good as it gets for landmarks in Wasilla.

I find it humorous that this is by all rights a genuine historic landmark as with regard to Alaska's settlement and it's less than 100 years old, whereas Dublin Shooter had to be reminded to tag an 800 year old pub as reasonable credit for a landmark blip. We're just babes in the New World.