Founded in 1967 to honor the heritage and culture of the Knick area, the Knick Museum and Mosheers Hall of Fame was an important village and trading center for the Alaskan Natives long before the arrival of miners, fishermen, merchants, and homeowners. The village became a route for winter dog sleds and summer wagon paths to mining areas and had grown into a large city by the early 1900s, the gradual demise of the city beginning when local businesses moved to the new Wasilla that arose when the New Alaska Railroad was built.