| YEAR |
EVENTS |
| 1778 |
Captain James Cook expedition; first European contact. |
| 1818 |
Aleksandrovski Redoubt (fort) established at Nushagak; Russian traders from the redoubt explored the area. The area was rich in furs, and the post soon handled as many as 4,000 pelts annually. |
| 1821-1822 |
Survey of Hagemeister Island and Straits and Cape Newenham by A.K. Etolin and Vasli Khromchenko. During this period trade was established with Eskimos at the mouth of the Togiak River. |
| 1867 |
U.S. Secretary of State William Seward signs an agreement with Russian Minister to the United States Baron Edouard Stoeckl. The agreement ceded possession of the 586,000 square mile territory of Alaska to the U.S. for $7.2 million.
|
| 1880-1890 |
The Nushagak Trading Post maintained a station at the mouth of the Togiak River. |
| 1884-1886 |
First salmon canneries established in Bristol Bay. The salmon fishery rapidly replaced the fur industry as the most important in the area. |
| 1890-1900 |
The discovery of gold in Alaska and the Yukon Territory brings more than 30,000 people flooding in. Mining, fishing, trapping, and mineral production flourish throughout Alaska. |
| 1895 |
The Alaska Commercial Company established a salmon salting station in the area. |
| 1898 |
The first geological exploration of the area was made by J.E. Spurr, who traveled up the Kanektok River to Kagati Lake, portaged to Togiak Lake, then descended the Togiak River to its mouth. |
| 1899 |
The first Moravian chapel was established at Togiak. Togiak was first visited by Moravian missionaries in 1884, and it had been an outstation since establishment of a church at Nushagak in 1886. |
| 1900 |
Gold was discovered in vicinity of Goodnews Bay, resulting in a stampede of miners from Nome in 1900-1901. Several placer mines began operating, although most of the mines had closed by the outbreak of World War II. |
| 1904-1905 |
Reindeer were brought to Bristol Bay, which eventually led to establishment of herds at Togiak, Nushagak, Goodnews, and Quinhagak. The herding industry was essentially gone from the area by the mid-1940's, following a series of hard winters that exterminated most of the reindeer. |
| 1912 |
Passage of the Second Organic Act makes Alaska an official territory of the U.S. and establishes a territorial legislature of eight senators and sixteen house members. |
| 1926 |
Platinum was first discovered in the Salmon River valley, near the present day village of Platinum. This produced Alaska's last big prospecting stampede, with more than 150 claims being staked in the valley. Ownership was eventually consolidated and transferred to Hanson Enterprises, who worked a dredge continuously until 1975. Since then, the dredge has operated only intermittently. Since 1926, more than 640,000 ounces of platinum have been extracted in the Goodnews Bay district. |
| 1942 |
Japan occupies Attu and Kiska islands, in the Aleutians, during WWII. This brings billions of dollars in defense spending and thousands of military personnel to Alaska and leads to the construction of the Alaska-Canada (ALCAN) highway. The military importance of Alaska would continue into the cold war years, leading to the construction of many more military structures throughout the state. |
| 1959 |
Alaska becomes the 49th state of the United States of America on January 3rd when President Eisenhower signs the official declaration of statehood. |
