Anchorage Area Time Line

Anchorage Area Time Line. . , 5000 B.C. , Earliest known human habitation in the Anchorage area, 1756 , First contact between Athabaskan Dena'ina people and European cultures. Dena'ina population in the Anchorage area estimated at 5000 people, 1778 , English explorer, Captain James Cook discovered and explored the Anchorage area. Cook mistook one of the inlet's arms for a river and named it "River Turnagain". It was later renamed Turnagain Arm by the explorer George Vancouver, ca 1780 , Russian missionaries and trading activity extended into Cook Inlet., 1839 , Dena'ina population decimated by smallpox, 1867 , United States purchased Alaska territory from Russia for $7,200,000, 1868 , Alaska Commercial Company began operating trading stations along Cook Inlet. A.C.C. was the strongest organized non-native group in the area. Commercial and civilian laws were administered by military personnel., 1880 , Ivan Petroff compiled the first census of Alaska, 1884 , Civilian colonial government was established, 1888 , Gold was discovered in the Turnagain Arm area, 1896 , James Girdwood staked a placer claim at Crow Creek, south of Anchorage, 1898 , Congress extended Homesteading Act to Alaska, 1906 , The Secretary of the Interior was authorized to grant homesteads to Alaska Natives, ca 1910 , Cabins were built on the flats of Ship Creek, 1912 , Alaska became a United States Territory with its own legislature. Alaska Native Brotherhood was founded; their main goal was obtaining citizenship for the native population, 1913 , Alaska legislature gave women the right to vote, 1914 , Woodrow Wilson created the Alaska Railroad Engineering Commission for the construction of the Alaska Railroad. The north bank of Ship Creek was designated as the headquarters site for railroad construction; linking Seward to Fairbanks, via Anchorage, 1915 , President Woodrow Wilson authorized a townsite land auction. 600 lots were sold. U.S. Post Office Department designated "Anchorage" as the name for the new town. The first permanent house was constructed in the new townsite, 1916 , Using federal funds, the Anchorage Engineering Commission began building the town's infrastructure. First regulation baseball diamond and grandstands constructed. Joe Spenard held first ice carnival on Lake Spenard. Railroad workers formed Alaska Labor Union, 1917 , First schoolhouse constructed, 1918 , First train between Anchorage and Seward, 1920 , Anchorage was incorporated into a city, 1923 , President Warren G. Harding drove the "Golden Spike” to complete the Alaska Railroad line from Seward to Fairbanks, via Anchorage, 1924 , Indian Citizenship Act granted citizenship to Native Americans, including Alaska Natives, without terminating tribal rights and property, 1925 , Territorial legislature enacted Alaska Voters Literacy Act requiring that all voters be able to read and write the English language. 300,000 units of diphtheria antitoxin were relayed from Anchorage to Nenana by train; from Nenana to Nome by dogteam over what is now the Iditarod Trail, 1927 , 13 year old Ben Benson designed Alaska's flag, 1930 , Merrill Field completed. Air transportation became an important part of the economy, 1934 , Construction began on Providence Hospital, 1935 , Federal Relief Administration began the Matanuska Colony experiment. Anchorage was designated as the shipping hub for support supplies used by the colonists, 1937 , First fur rendezvous carnival held by Chamber of Commerce, 1940 , Construction began on Fort Richardson and Elmendorf [Army] Air Force Base, 1942 , 1,523-mile Alaska Canadian Military Highway from Dawson Creek, Canada, to Fairbanks was built in 9 months. Japanese bombed Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island and invaded Kiska and Attu Islands in the Aleutian chain. This was the only invasion of United States soil, by an enemy force during a World War, 1943 , American forces staged major attacks on Kiska and Attu Islands, returning them to American control, 1945 , February 16th was designated "Elizabeth Peratrovich Day". Elizabeth Peratrovich was a Tlingit Native Rights activist, tirelessly campaigning for equality for all Alaskans. Her campaign for caused the legislature to pass a law ending legal segregation in Alaska, 1946 , Alaska voted to apply for statehood, 1949 , First traffic lights installed on 4th Avenue, 1950 , Alaskan schools were transferred from Federal Government control to territorial control, 1951 , Completion of the highway between Anchorage and Seward, 1953 , Mount Spurr erupted covering Anchorage with volcanic ash, 1954 , Anchorage Community College opened, 1956 , Anchorage was named "All American City". The Constitution of the State of Alaska was approved by the voters in April, 1956, 1957 , Oil was discovered at Swanson River on the Kenai Peninsula, 1959 , Alaska became the 49th State. Alaska Methodist University dedicated (now Alaska Pacific University), 1962 , The Tundra Times, the first statewide newspaper devoted to representing the views and issues of Alaska Natives, was established, 1964 , Good Friday earthquake, 1965 , Corps of Engineers led Anchorage infrastructure reconstruction, spending $1,000,000 a month for the first year following the quake. Port of Anchorage reconstructed and expanded, becoming the principle port of entry for Alaskan's consumer goods. Anchorage again named "All-American City” for earthquake restoration efforts, 1966 , Alaska Federation of Natives was organized, 1967 , A small portion of the historic Iditarod freight trail was cleared. The first Iditarod Race was run on 50 miles of trail. Production began on the first Cook Inlet oil platform, 1968 , Largest oil field in North America discovered at Prudhoe Bay, 1969 , $900,000,000 was paid to the state of Alaska for North Slope oil leases, 1971 , Alaska [N]ative Claims Settlement Act (ANSCA) was passed by [C]ongress. It created 12 regional for profit corporations., 1972 , The [M]arine Mammal Protection Act became law with the provision that Alaska Natives would have traditional use of marine mammals., 1973 , First Iditarod race from Anchorage to Nome, 1974 , Construction began on the Trans-Alaska pipeline system, 1975 , City of Anchorage and Greater Anchorage Area Borough united into Municipality of Anchorage, 1976 , Litigation resulted in state government providing local schools for Alaska Native communities, equal to those provided for urban communities, 1976 , Voters approve constitutional amendment establishing the Alaska Permanent Fund to receive "at least 25 percent" of all state oil revenues and related income., 1977 , Construction on the pipeline is completed, and the first oil arrives through the pipeline in Valdez., The Trans-Alaska Pipeline: A barrel of crude oil takes 5.04 days to flow from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez through the [T]rans-Alaska pipeline at 6.62 mph. If the pipeline were full, it would hold 9 million barrels. One barrel equals 42 gallons., 1982 , Time zones shift to include all of Alaska, except western-most Aleutian Islands, in one zone: Alaska Standard Time., The Oscar Anderson House, built in 1915, is restored and opened to public. Now located on the corner of 4th and D., 1984 , Anchorage named "All-American City" for third time., 1985 , State purchases Alaska Railroad from the federal government, 1988 , The Permanent Fund passes the $10 billion mark., Economic doldrums from oil prices continue to affect the state, causing many to lose their jobs and leave, banks to foreclose on property, and businesses to go bankrupt., 1989 , The Exxon Valdez, a 987' oil tanker carrying 53 million gallons of North Slope crude oil, grounds on Bligh Reef spilling 11 million gallons into Prince William Sound., 1990 , Alaska population reaches 550,000 according to the US Census Bureau[.] The estimated Alaska Native population: 95,000., 1991 , January 1: 8 billionth barrel of oil arrives in Valdez., 1992 , Mt. Spurr volcano erupts three times, one blast dumping ash on Anchorage., 1996 , One of the most devastating fires in state history destroys homes and property in the South Central area near Big Lake., 1998 , The moose was adopted as Alaska's official state land mammal., 1999 , Two legendary dogmushers died this year , , Joe Redington, Sr., founder of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, and Edgar Nollner, Sr., the last surviving musher of the 1925 diphtheria serum run to Nome., The Alaska Native Heritage Center, a 26 acre cultural park, opened its doors., 2000 , Census 2000 results show Anchorage population to be 262,932, an increase of 14% from 1990, and Alaska moves to 47th in the state population rankings., 2005 , Anchorage named as one of the Top Ten Domestic Destinations in the U.S., 2008 , The Dena'ina Convention Center is completed.