On 18 October 1867, the United States formally took possession of Alaska, completing a significant land acquisition from Russia in what became known as the Alaska Purchase.
For the price of $7.2 million, equivalent to about two cents per acre, the US gained over 586,000 square miles of largely untamed wilderness.
Initially criticized as "Seward's Folly" after US Secretary of State William H Seward, who negotiated the deal, the purchase would later prove invaluable due to Alaska's abundant natural resources, including timber, gold, and eventually oil.
The transfer ceremony took place in Sitka, Alaska, marking the formal handover of the territory.
