Tuesday is Alaska Day, marking 155 years since the state’s territory was bought by the United States.
Alaska Day commemorates the official transfer of the Alaska territory from Russia to the U.S. on October 18th, 1867, seven months after the agreed purchase of more than seven million dollars. The formal transfer a century and a half ago was celebrated with a ceremony at Fort Sitka with 250 united states army troops marching to the Governor’s house at Castle Hill to replace the Russian Flag with the flag of the United States. While it would be another 92 years before Alaska became a U.S. state in 1959, Alaska Day marks the official purchase and transfer of the land from Russia 155 years ago.
