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Student Guide :: State History State History In 1725, Vitus Bering was sent by Peter the Great to explore the North Pacific. 1774 - Capt. James Cook explored the Alaska waters. A Russian settlement was first established on Kodiak Island in 1784. Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million. (That's about 2 cents an acre!) On October 18, 1867 at Sitka, the treaty is signed. The next year, the Department of Alaska is under the jurisdiction of the US Army. In 1869, The Alaska Times was the First newspaper printed in Alaska. It was published in Sitka. Gold is discovered in Sitka in 1872. Salmon Canneries are started up in 1878 at Klawock and Old Sitka. In 1891, the first oil claims are staked in Cook Inlet. The Klondike Gold Rush is on from 1897-1900. In 1898, Gold is discovered in Nome. (According to the stories, you could walk the beaches of Nome and the gold would cling to the bottom of your shoes.) 1906 - Alaska has a nonvoting member to congress. The Capitol of Alaska moves from Sitka to Juneau. (Making Alaska the only State whose Capitol is not accessible by road.) Alaska was given Territorial status in 1912. The construction of the Alaska Railroad was authorized by President Wilson in 1914. In 1916 - The US Congress was first imposed upon to consider Alaska for Statehood. The creation of the Mount McKinley National Park was established in 1917. (The park is know known as Denali National Park) In 1918 the Native population of Alaska is decimated by a worldwide epidemic of the Spanish flu. President Harding drives the final spike in the completion of the Alaska Railroad in 1923. In 1930, farming begins in Alaska with the Matanuska Valley Project. The Black Rapids Glacier, living up to its name, advances 3 miles in 3 months in 1936, coming within a .5 mile of the Richardson Highway. 1937 saw the appointment of the first women, Nell Scott, to the Alaska Territorial Legislature. In 1940, Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base are established. Alaska's population is about 72,458. Roughly 32,458 are Native Alaskans and 40,000 non-Natives. 1942 brought two major events to Alaska. First was the beginning of the construction of the Alaska Canada Military Highway (the Alcan). The Second major event was the bombing of Dutch Harbor and the occupation of Attu and Kiska Islands in the Aleutians. These forces were driven out in 1943. The Kenai Oil Strike was in 1957. Alaska became the 49th State on January 3, 1959. Southeast Alaska receives State Ferry Service in 1963. (The Alaska State Ferry Service, AKA The Alaska Marine Highway is a major form of transportation for Southeast Alaska today.) In 1964, the worst earthquake in North America History hit Alaska on Good Friday, March 27. the Earthquake measure 9.2 on today's Richter scale, caused extensive damage. The earthquake and the following tsunamis took the lives of 131 persons. The Great Fairbanks Flood happened in 1967. The North Slope Oil and Gas Discoveries of Prudhoe Bay were made in 1968. ANCSA, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act is approved by congress in 1971. 1973 was the beginning of the 1049 mile sled dog race from Anchorage to Nome. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race follows part of the old mail route from 1910. The Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline begins Construction in 1974. Construction is completed in 1977. In 1980, the Alaska State Legislature votes to repeal the state income tax and establishes the Permanent Fund Program. In 1982, Every resident who had been in Alaska at least 6 months received a $1000.00 Check from the Permanent Fund Dividend Program. (for more information on the PFD, check out their web site Alaska switches from 5 time zones to two in 1983. Most of Alaska is now on Alaska Time with the westernmost Aleutians on Pacific Standard Time. Alaska is 25 years old in 1984. Libby Riddles becomes the first woman to win the Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race in 1985. Susan Butcher wins the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1986, 1987, and 1988. In 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground in the Prince William Sound, causing the worst oil spill in US History. In 1990, Susan Butcher again wins the Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race. Walter J. Hickel becomes governor in an election upset. Tommy Moe, an Alaskan skier, is a gold medallist at Norway in the Olympic Games in 1994. In 1996, the worst wildfire in Alaska destroys 344 buildings and homes worth about $8.8 million. Total acres lost to the fire equaled 37,500. Joe Redington, Senior, the Father of the Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race died at his home in Knik in 1999. The Anchorage International Airport is renamed Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in honor of Alaska's senior US Senator in March of 2000. Top of Page Juneau Headquarters: 217 Second Street, Suite 201, Juneau, AK 99801 Phone: 907.586.2323, Fax: 907.463.5515, Email: info@alaskachamber.com Anchorage Office: 601 W. 5th Avenue, Suite 700, Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: 907.278.2722, Fax: 907.278.6643 Copyright © 2003 - Present. The Alaska State Chamber of Commerce, all rights reserved. Designed by WebWeavers Technology Group LLC™ |
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