Homer, Alaska

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Homer is a town located in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population was 5,364.^[1]

Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 People and culture 3.1 Demographics 3.2 Education 3.3 Media 3.4 Transportation 3.5 Popular culture 3.6 Trivia 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Geography

Homer is located at 59°38'35" North, 151°31'33" West (59.643059, -151.525900)^GR1.

Homer is on the shore of Kachemak Bay on the southwest side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its most distinguishing feature is the Homer Spit, a narrow 7 km (4.5 mile) long gravel bar that extends into the bay, on which is located the Homer Harbor.

Much of the coastline as well as the Homer Spit sank dramatically during the Good Friday Earthquake in March of 1964. After the earthquake, very little vegetation was able to survive on the Homer Spit.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 58.1 km² (22.4 mi²). 27.4 km² (10.6 mi²) of it is land and 30.7 km² (11.9 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 52.83% water.

[edit] History

Archeological digs indicate that early Alutiq people probably camped in the Homer area although their villages were on the far side of Kachemak Bay.

Coal was discovered in the area in the 1890s. The Cook Inlet Coal Fields Company built a town, dock, coal mine, and a railroad at Homer. Coal mining in the area continued until World War II. There are an estimated 400 million tons of coal deposits still in the area.

Homer was named for Homer Pennock, a gold mining company promoter, who arrived in 1896 on what is now the Homer Spit and built living quarters for his crew of 50 men. However, gold mining was never profitable in the area.

Currently, tourism, sport fishing, commercial fishing and logging are important industries in the Homer area.

[edit] People and culture

[edit] Demographics

As of 2004, there were 3,726 people, 1,523 households, and 955 families residing in town. The population density is 122.0/km² (372.9/mi²). There are 1,873 housing units at an average density of 68.4/km² (177.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 88% White, 2.33% Black or African American, 4.88% Native American, 2% Asian, 1.19% Pacific Islander, 0.73% from other races, and 3.14% from two or more races. 2.41% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 1,523 households out of which 31.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% are married couples living together, 9.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% are non-families. 29.7 % of all households are made up of individuals and 6.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.40 and the average family size is 2.99.

In town the population is spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 28.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 39 years. For every 100 females there are 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 98.7 males.

The median income for a household in town is $42,821, and the median income for a family is $53,571. Males have a median income of $38,063 versus $30,494 for females. The per capita income for the town is $21,823. 9.3% of the population and 7.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 11.6% of those under the age of 18 and 6.8% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

[edit] Education

The Homer Public Library has enthusiastic support from the Friends of the Homer Library, established in 1948, which raised funds and support for a new library building, opened on September 16, 2006.

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District provides primary and secondary education to the community of Homer. These schools are:

• Homer High School (9-12)
• Homer Flex High School (9-12)
• Homer Middle School (7-8)
• West Homer Elementary (3-6)
• Paul Banks Elementary (K-2)
• McNeil Canyon Elementary (K-6)
• Fireweed Academy (3-6)

The Kachemak Bay Campus of Kenai Peninsula College provides post-secondary education, as well as ESL and GED training to the community of Homer.

[edit] Media

Homer has two newspapers, the Homer Tribune, an independent weekly paper established in 1991, and the Homer News, a weekly founded in 1964 and bought in 2000 by Morris Communications.

[edit] Transportation

Homer is the Southernmost town on the Alaska highway system. It is also part of the Alaska Marine Highway (the Alaskan ferry system). A regional airport lies near the coast as well, with two local airlines: Homer Air,^[2] and Smokey Bay Air^[3] flying scheduled routes, as well as Era Aviation and PenAir. Homer constructed its first traffic light in 2005.^[4]

[edit] Popular culture

According to a report on the April 17, 2006 edition of The Daily Show, it was satirically reported that Homer had been overpopulated by bald eagles due in large part by Jean Keene, known as the "Eagle Lady" who feeds 200 to 300 eagles about 500 pounds of fish daily.^[5]

Homer hosted the 2006 Arctic Winter Games.

[edit] Trivia

• Homer is the hometown of singer/songwriter Jewel.
• Homer was the hometown of writer Tom Bodett, known for the Motel 6 "We'll leave the light on for you" advertisements, and the whimsical book about Homer, "As Far as You Can go Without a Passport."
• Homer is, ironically for a town in Alaska, the home of two summer olympians: Tela O'Donnell in women's wrestling, and Stacey Borgman in rowing.
• One of Homer's nicknames is "the cosmic hamlet by the sea"; another is "the end of the road".
• Homer is also the sport halibut fishing capital of the world.
• A popular, tongue-in-cheek t-shirt slogan characterizes the town as "Homer - A quaint little drinking town with a fishing problem."

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• City of Homer official home page
• Photos of Homer - Terra Galleria
• Homer Tourist Review
• Homer News (Local print & on-line newspaper)
• Homer Tribune (Local print & on-line newspaper)
• Homer Public Library home page
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 59.643059° -151.5259°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA

	State of Alaska Juneau (capital)
Regions	Aleutian Islands | Arctic Alaska | Bush Alaska | Interior | Kenai Peninsula | Mat‑Su Valley | North Slope | Panhandle | Seward Peninsula | Southcentral | Southwest | Tanana Valley | Yukon‑Kuskokwim Delta
Largest cities	Anchorage | Barrow | Bethel | Fairbanks | Homer | Juneau | Kenai | Ketchikan | Kodiak | Kotzebue | Nome | Palmer | Petersburg | Seward | Sitka | Unalaska | Valdez | Wasilla
Boroughs	Aleutians East | Anchorage | Bristol Bay | Denali | Fairbanks North Star | Haines | Juneau | Kenai Peninsula | Ketchikan Gateway | Kodiak Island | Lake and Peninsula | Matanuska‑Susitna | North Slope | Northwest Arctic | Sitka | Yakutat
Census areas	Aleutians West | Bethel | Dillingham | Nome | Prince of Wales‑Outer Ketchikan | Skagway‑Hoonah‑Angoon | Southeast Fairbanks | Valdez‑Cordova | Wade Hampton | Wrangell‑Petersburg | Yukon‑Koyukuk | (see also) Unorganized Borough