Alaska Nellie's Homestead, Historic homestead in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States.
Alaska Nellie's Homestead stands at Mile 23 of the Seward Highway in Kenai Peninsula Borough. The homestead building and a number of outbuildings remain; the roadhouse that once stood here was destroyed in the 1960s, likely by rising Kenai Lake water after the 1964 Alaska earthquake. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
Nellie Neal Lawing settled at the Roosevelt roadhouse on Kenai Lake in 1923 and built her homestead there. A post office opened in 1924 with Nellie as first postmistress, named Lawing in her honor. She ran the lodge until her death in 1956; the roadhouse was destroyed in the 1960s, likely by rising lake water after the 1964 earthquake. The homestead was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
The area's post office opened in 1924 with Nellie Neal Lawing as its first postmistress, and it was named Lawing in her honour. She also ran the lodge and roadhouse, giving wildlife lectures that drew guests such as Will Rogers and Alice Calhoun.
The homestead stands at Mile 23 of the Seward Highway in Kenai Peninsula Borough, with the roadhouse site beside Kenai Lake. The roadhouse itself is gone, destroyed in the 1960s, so what remains is the homestead and its outbuildings. The property was vacated after its years as a bed and breakfast, so check access before turning off the highway.
Nellie kept three bears among her hunting trophies inside the roadhouse, and pet bear cubs outside the house. Her wildlife lectures drew guests including humorist Will Rogers, actress Alice Calhoun and General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. The roadhouse itself was lost in the 1960s, probably to rising Kenai Lake water after the 1964 earthquake.
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