Cooper Landing Chronology
(key to abbreviations located at the bottom)

Information provided by Mona Painter.
www.cooperlandingmuseum.com

1848-51 Russian engineer P. Doroshin found gold in CL area

1899 Teenaged Frank Towle came with father, brothers for gold mining during summer season

1884 Joseph Cooper found gold here---CL, Cooper Lake, Cooper Creek named for him

1900 US Census: 21 miners and 1 young wife at Cooper Creek

1910 Jack and Charlie Lean came to moose hunt and stayed; Dena’ina Indians still living along the river

1920-21 First bridge over the Kenai River in CL area was built near Mile 53

1929-30 First school in CL---held in Charlie and Beryl Lean’s cabin---called Riddiford Bridge near Mile 53 was replaced by the Schooner Bend covered bridge about 700 feet downstream

1932 Frank Towle first to patent property---108.84 acres (including Salmon Run Lodge to PO)

1935 CCC’s finished bridge over Kenai River, Bean Creek to J. Lean’s store. Replaced upriver, in present location, 1950

1938 Drivable road to Seward

1947 CL Post Office established---earlier post office called Riddiford

1948 Road to Kenai opened after Moose River Bridge built, weather & road conditions permitting. Paved in 1950’s

1949 CL Community Club formed with 45 members Community Hall built over the winter of 1950-51 Club holds title to community properties: cemetery, rifle range, community center, museum site

1951 Road to Anchorage opened in fall

1955 Schooner Bend covered bridge replaced upstream about 800 feet

1959 Snug Harbor Rd. fire threatened community--- army here to evacuate--wind direction changed and community was spared

1958-60 Cooper Lake hydroelectric facility and dam built---40 children in school

1962 First commercial electricity available

1963 Kenai Lake Baptist Church dedicated Movement started to bring TV to the Landing---NBC channel translator in place before 1967 (now KTUU) RATNET dish was installed by Dec. 93, later changed to ARCS

1964 Earthquake put bridge near Mile 48 in river---some land around Lake fell, homes and highway damaged

1965 New bridge constructed near Mile 48, temporary Bailey bridge removed

1969 Russian River fire burned about 2570 acres

1970 US Census for CL: 131

1971 Dall Homemaker club began

1972 Current CL Elementary School building constructed Gym/kitchen finished in 1983. (KPB election bond Oct. 81)

1973 CL Ambulance Squad received first ambulance Public Service Site Special Use Permit USFS to KPB KPBSD donated old school for ambulance housing--- moved to site in Oct. Ambulance at Hamilton’s Place until building ready.

First community Christmas card

1974 Interior Telephone brought phone service 42 children in CLES Snow River Pothole flood crested at 17.18 feet at bridge on Sept.21

1974 Oct. 1 windstorm, worst in residents memories, weakened forest for spruce bark beetle to start devastation

1975 CL Volunteer Fire Dept. got first fire truck--1942 Chevy, 300 gal pumper

1976 Cooper Landing hazardous school bus route began in Jan. Fire/Amb. hall built with CLCC sponsored grant and donations

1977 Resurrection Christian Academy started school....1982-83 was the last school year for RCA in CL First CL based Kenai River float trip business, Alaska Campout Adventures, put in at Sportsmans Lodge

1978 St. John Neumann Catholic Church dedicated USFS Special Use Permit to CLCC for community center

1979 CL Community Hall moved across river with state grant to Community center on Bean Creek Road

1980 Snug Harbor Snail-a-thon community fund raiser started

1982 KPB special CL census: 389 CLCC received patent to old Hall site near Mile 49

1983 CL Community Club patented community center and cemetery properties on Bean Creek Road CL Community Library built next to Community Hall

1984 Archaeologists found prehistoric artifacts, Indian and Eskimo graves near Mile 55 Kenaitze/USFS K’beq (Footprints) interpretive site opened near Mile 53 in 1997----an earlier site opened in 1992 was closed

1986 KPB School District initiated bussing to Soldotna for high school and later also for junior high Historic district formed from Lean properties (5 buildings: Jack Lean’s store now P.O. and Charlie and Beryl Lean’s home, first school, Dunc Little’s cabin, Leo Douglas’ cabin) Pinochle Club started

1987 CL population in Feb. about 290

1990 Fuel reduction logging to removed beetle-killed spruce forest began on agency land CL population about 310 Kenai Princess Lodge opened

1991 Pothole Lake fire---600 firefighters in area---used Library and Community.Hall for command post 41 children started school CL Advisory Planning Commission Community Goals Survey

1992 CL Postmaster 28 years (since 1963), Betty J. Fuller, retired May 1 Steve Skolnick new PM (former PM’S: Frances Brown 1924-27 PO called Riddiford, Muriel Witt 37-39,Carrie Moore 47-57, Beverly Sabroskie 57-59, Sherman Smith 59-63)

1993 First CL land plan ordinance enacted by KPB Aug. 17----CLAPC finished plan, community voted May 1992 Work began on Helen E. Rhode Memorial Park 51 children attending CLES in Oct. Electric line extension to west Bean Creek Rd. Sportsmans Lodge, MP 55, bought for public boat launch and parking------buildings removed and/or torn down

1995 Annual softball tournament initiated at the community center

1996 Cooper Landing Advisory Planning Commission completed Land Use Classification Recommendations For Borough Selected Lands2---over 5000 acres- --update to 1992 CLAPC work---approved by community vote in May and adopted by the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Sept.

1997 Kenai River Scenic Overlook and Boat Launch opened at the bridge near Mile 48 CL year-round population about 425 according to Postmaster Skolnick

Public Service Site KPB lease to CLCC Sexy Senior Dumpster Cleaners began cleaning sites in CL, Hope, Moose Pass to benefit the community

1998 Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly voted to deed the recreation property now used as the rifle range to the Cooper Landing Community Club

Cooper Landing Historical Society organized

1999 Cooper Landing Senior Citizens Corporation, Inc. formed

2000 Kitchen and bathroom addition to Community Hall with Dept. of Community & Economic Development grant. Snail-a-thon Beach permit and Helen Rhode Park permit from state parks to CLCC Bean Creek, and portions of Snug Harbor and Quartz Creek Roads paved US Census 369

2001 School building from 1955 donated to CLHS and moved to museum site by KPB Russian Gap Subdivision sold by KPB

2002 Cooper Landing Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, Inc. formed

Key:
CLCC Cooper Landing Community Club
MP Mile Post on highway
ARCS Alaska Rural Communications System
USFS United States Forest Service
CCC’s Civilian Conservation Corps
ITC Interior Telephone Co.
CLHS Cooper Landing Historical Society
KPB Kenai Peninsula Borough
KPBSD Kenai Pen. Borough School District

For more information, write to:
Cooper Landing Historical Society
PO Box 542
Cooper Landing, Alaska 99572
907-595-1248
museum@arctic.net
www.cooperlandingmuseum.com