Kenny Lake is a small agricultural, rural "adventure" community on the Edgerton Highway. It was first settled by whites in the early 1900s along the new access road connecting Chitina to the interior. Ina (Wiesner) and Guy Simmons (originally from Kansas City, MO) owned and operated the Kenny Lake Roadhouse from around 1920 to 1930. (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)
The modern Kenny Lake Mercantile sits "downtown" at the junction between the old and new Edgerton Highways. The original Merc building was the old schoolhouse from Chistochina, it was moved to it's present location by the Merc's previous owners, the Winninghams. The Winninghams purchased the land from Nick Lincoln, who had received the property in a Native Land Allotment.
Sharon Forster, the current owner, bought the Mercantile in 2005. She has made many improvements to the structure of the older buildings while preserving the outward appearance much as it was fifty years ago.
Almost every history of Kenny Lake, Alaska tells us Kenny Lake was established in the 1950s (or 1960s) by homesteaders. The standard story repeated on every State, Parks, and Travel industry website is that most or several of the homesteads were subdivided and sold, all except for four original homesteads. According to locals, the only land that was subdivided here was State owned land by the firehall and a parcel behind the Cummunity Hall. Note from the editor: Finding the real history of Kenny Lake will take more than an online search. One of the original homesteaders who still has his land (since 1961) has agreed to fill in some blanks for us! This page will surely gain from his contributions. Thanks Bill!
Everyone agrees the Ahtena (Ahtna) Indians have lived in the Copper River Region for perhaps 30,000 years. They were the first "settlers" in Kenny Lake; they were photographed at a roadhouse at the Lower Tonsina in 1903. While it was during the 1950s that the Kenny Lake community grew in size and in social activities, this area has been well travelled and inhabited by white settlers, the U.S. Military, Indians and other entrepeneurs since the late 1800s.
The modern road follows part of an old trail that connected the Copper River to other parts of the territory. All the old pictures on this page were taken from the State of Alaska'a Virtual Library show and copied onto this donated Kenny Lake community page as a public service to our visitors. (If there is any problem with copyrights, please notify Niki Raapana and she will be happy to accomodate the owner's wishes.)
The original cuttoff from the Richardson to Chitina was called the "Valdez, Chitina, Fairbanks Military Road." It was "constructed and maintained by the Alaska Road Commission" in the early 1900s. The road follows a pack trail used by ancient Alaskans and was used to haul goods, mail and tourists (in wagons) from Chitina to Valdez and Fairbanks.
The first Roadhouse in Kenny Lake was an ARC supply outpost for trade between the three towns. The road became the (old) Edgerton Highway in (year?). It was named for U.S. Army Major Glenn Edgerton, chief engineer of Alaska Road from 1910 to 1915, who was later appointed Govenor of the Panama Canal Zone.
The State of Alaska began plans to build a road from Chitina to McCarthy and Kennecott Mine on the old railroad bed in 1960; over the next decade major upgrades were also made to the Edgerton Highway. The new Edgerton Hwy was completed in 1964. It was paved in 1971 as far as the Lower Tonsina River. In 1991 the Edgerton Highway was paved all the way to Chitina.
The Alaska Jukebox collection includes an audio taped interview with Glennallen resident Margaret Eskilida, whose grandfather was the first Indian to hold an Alaskan business (Lower Tonsina Roadhouse?) license.
The Copper Country Collection Cookbook is a wonderful collection of recipes from local and former recipes of the Copper River Valley. In addition to the great recipes, the cookbook includes historical pictures and written history of this beautiful area of Alaska.
Back in the 1930s, when the Kennecott Copper Mines were still operational, Kenny Lake was a busy center of commerce and trade providing services and goods to the bustling town of Chitina.
After the copper mines were closed in 1938, Chitina went through a massive exodus, and like Kenny Lake, all the way out to McCarthy, the Edgerton Highway and McCarthy Road became a quiet stretch of people living rural Alaskan lifestyles.
Since the 1950s it has attracted homesteaders, farmers, dog mushers, teachers, state and Alyeska workers, carpenters, moms, artists, musicians and writers, who all have a niche here. The abundance of space appeals to people from many diverse heritages and backgrounds, they spread out down the highway to the Lower Tonsina River. (The actual lake began to really recede after the 2001 earthquake; in a short 6 years it has shrunk almost to a pond. More coming on this topic.)
From Kenny Lake to Chitina and beyond, this long, dead-end road has maintained many Homesteader values. It carries deep traditions passed down from ancient tribes mixed with the American Pioneer Spirit. For a rugged few, it offers a unique opportunity to do traditional American-Alaskan things, like buy tax-free land, shoot guns, clear trails, mush, trap, hunt, dip-net, fishwheel, can, smoke, dry, garden, and experiment with subsistance/alternative food and shelters. According to the Bureau of Land Management, "The Tiger Mine claim {near Liberty Falls} was discovered in 1963 and the area was mined for gold and other related minerals from 1987 to 1994. The miners reported that they processed 300 cubic yards or 5600 tons per day and that no chemicals were used to extract gold and silver from the ore."
The town of Chitina, once a major Alaskan port and busy railroad station boasting a population of 3,000 souls, today is a tiny Alaskan's fishing and subsistance town filled with lively residents, relics, and wonders from the past. An area rich in history and folklore, its residents still hold much of the essence and spirit of early Alaskans, including the tougher side. Every summer local Alaskans come to Chitina from all over the state, bringing their fish wheels, dip-nets, fly-rods and reels for lake fishing and what some say is the best fish in the world, the Copper River Red Salmon.
The great Copper River begins all the way on the other side of Mt. Wrangell (14,163 ft). It goes north first, flowing out of the Copper Glacier. It crosses back and forth over the Glen Highway #1, all the way down to Copper Center. It cuts across the Copper River Basin on the Kenny Lake side of Wrangell. What may be the most deadly and bountiful river in Alaska meets the Tonsina River east of Kenny Lake. It crashes into the Chitina River a few miles east of Chitina. Moving south to Obrien Creek it speeds through the Chitina narrows, whisking past Spirit Mountain (7287 ft.) on its turbulent 280 mile ride south to the mouth of the Gulf of Alaska, near Cordova.
Note: The next 60 miles of road east is called the McCarthy Road. It's a brutal gravel drive, with some spikes. If you aren't one to chance it, don't turn your car around in Chitina. Drive on through the rock passage, go a few more miles to the bridge; it's a well traveled road. Take a left after you cross over, you'll see all the fish-wheels down there. Get out of your vehicle. Brace yourself for the force of Chitina's famous raging and silty wind ripping through the river's gorge. If Mt. Wrangell is out, you'll see its glacier and volcano spout towering high above the confluence.
Kenny Lake is a small agricultural, rural "adventure" community on the Edgerton Highway. It was first settled by whites in the early 1900s along the new access road connecting Chitina to the interior. Ina (Wiesner) and Guy Simmons (originally from Kansas City, MO) owned and operated the Kenny Lake Roadhouse from around 1920 to 1930. (
Sharon Forster, the current owner, bought the Mercantile in 2005. She has made many improvements to the structure of the older buildings while preserving the outward appearance much as it was fifty years ago.
Everyone agrees the Ahtena (Ahtna) Indians have lived in the Copper River Region for perhaps 30,000 years. They were the first "settlers" in Kenny Lake; they were photographed at a roadhouse at the Lower Tonsina in 1903. While it was during the 1950s that the Kenny Lake community grew in size and in social activities, this area has been well travelled and inhabited by white settlers, the U.S. Military, Indians and other entrepeneurs since the late 1800s.
The original cuttoff from the Richardson to Chitina was called the "Valdez, Chitina, Fairbanks Military Road." It was "constructed and maintained by the Alaska Road Commission" in the early 1900s. The road follows a pack trail used by ancient Alaskans and was used to haul goods, mail and tourists (in wagons) from Chitina to Valdez and Fairbanks.
The 
From Kenny Lake to Chitina and beyond, this long, dead-end road has maintained many Homesteader values. It carries deep traditions passed down from ancient tribes mixed with the American Pioneer Spirit. For a rugged few, it offers a unique opportunity to do traditional American-Alaskan things, like buy tax-free land, shoot guns, clear trails, mush, trap, hunt, dip-net, fishwheel, can, smoke, dry, garden, and experiment with subsistance/alternative food and shelters. According to the 
