FUN WITH MAPS – ISSUE 2023-114 DAILY FEATURE:

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (June 20, 2023) – In today’s edition of Fun with Maps from Steve Kovacs, we celebrate the anniversary of a land purchase from Russia.    

Great Land

Russia established a presence in America in the early 1700s, but few Russians settled there.  Recognizing that this land was not all that useful to Russia and was difficult to defend, Tsar Alexander II began to shop it by the mid-1800s.

The US was interested, as it provided a potential trading window to Asia. 

Secretary of State Seward entered into negotiations to purchase the land from Russia in the spring of 1867.  President Jackson announced publicly the purchase of Alaska on June 20, 1867.  The cost was $7.2 million (translating to $151 million in 2022).

By the way, the name Alaska is from the Aleut word alashka, meaning great land.

Cram’s map of Alaska from 1901 is shown here.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps.

Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.