 |
 |
 Official
Symbols The state
flag was designed by a 13-year-old schoolboy, and
was adopted in 1927. The blue field is for the
sky and the forget-me-not, the state flower. The
North Star is for the future of the state of
Alaska, the most northerly of the Union. The
dipper is for the Great Bear, symbolizing
strength. |
 The Purchase
of Alaska On March 30, 1867, U.S.
Secretary of State William H. Seward and Russian
minister to the U.S. Edouard de Stoeckl signed an
agreement for the United States to purchase
Alaska for the sum of $7.2 million (about 2 cents
an acre). The agreement was ratified by the
Senate on May 28, 1867, and the U.S. flag was
raised at Sitka on October 18, 1867. |
 Fairbanks
is the second largest city in Alaska, with a
population of approximately 31,000. It was
founded as a trading post for gold miners in
1902. Today it is a service center for the
mineral development of the Alaskan far north. |
|
