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This Week in Alaska History: October 13 – October 20 - Russia Hands Over Alaska To US
- Alaska Means Business
- Oct 15
- 2 min read
This stretch of October unveils tales of scholarly beginnings, artistic legacies, industrial booms, tragic losses, leadership births, territorial handovers, infrastructural triumphs, and military outposts—painting a vivid portrait of Alaska's multifaceted heritage.
October 13, 1960: Alaska Methodist University was dedicated in Anchorage, a milestone in the territory's push toward statehood-era education that laid the groundwork for modern institutions like Alaska Pacific University, emphasizing outdoor leadership and environmental studies amid the rugged Last Frontier landscape.
October 14, 1865: Renowned Alaska artist Sydney Laurence was born in Brooklyn, New York, later capturing the wild beauty of the North in luminous oils—his iconic depictions of Mount McKinley and coastal scenes would immortalize Alaska's untamed allure for generations of admirers.
October 15, 1957: The U.S. Forest Service handed a massive contract to the Alaska Lumber & Pulp Company in Sitka for over five billion board feet of timber, fueling the postwar logging surge that transformed Southeast Alaska's old-growth forests into economic engines while sparking early debates on sustainable harvest.
October 16, 1929: Flames engulfed Wrangell's Presbyterian Church, the oldest in Alaska, reducing its historic timbers to ashes in a swift blaze that symbolized the fragility of wooden frontier outposts and prompted resilient community rebuilds in the shadow of the Inside Passage.
October 17, 1873: Thomas Riggs, destined to serve as Alaska's ninth governor from 1918 to 1921, entered the world in Maryland; his tenure would champion infrastructure like roads and schools, bridging the gap between territorial isolation and the road to statehood.
October 18, 1867: In Sitka, the formal handover ceremony unfolded as Russian officials lowered their flag for the final time, and arriving American troops hoisted the Stars and Stripes over the newly acquired territory—sealing the $7.2 million Alaska Purchase and igniting an era of American expansion into the North.
October 19, 1951: The 128-mile Seward Highway swung open between Anchorage and Seward, linking to the prior year's Sterling Highway route to Homer and revolutionizing travel along Turnagain Arm; this paved lifeline not only boosted commerce but etched stunning vistas into Alaska's emerging road network.
