This Month in Yukon & Alaska History
March-April
- March (day unknown)
- - in 1812, the Russian American Company establishes a post at Fort Ross, California to
grow crops for their Alaska operations.
- March 12
- - in 1914, a bill authorizing the construction of the government-financed Alaska Railroad was signed by President
Wilson. Construction started in 1915, and some sections were opened as they were completed, but the entire line,
running from Seward to Fairbanks, was not completed until July 15, 1923.
- March 24
- - in 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez went aground on Bligh Reef, pouring almost 11 million gallons of oil
into Prince William Sound.
- March 27
- - in 1964, an earthquake with a magnitude of 8.4 on the
Richter Scale hits the Anchorage area,
killing 115 people and destroying hundreds of homes.
- - in 1975, the first section of pipe for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez was laid. By August,
21,600 people were working on the project. The first oil was put through the 800-mile line on June 20, 1977.
- March 30
- - in 1867, the United States purchased Alaska for $7,200,000
- April 1
- - in 1951, the Alaska Highway was turned over to Canada, in a ceremony at Whitehorse.
- April 3
- - in 1898, a series of 5 avalanches in the Chilkoot Pass between 2:00 AM and noon killed over 70 people.
- - in 1919, the Yukon finally allowed women to vote in Territorial elections. Manitoba had been the first province
to enfranchise women, in 1916, and federal enfranchisement was passed in May 1918.
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