July 14th - Sitka!

Alaska was purchased by the United States in 1867 for $7.2 million. This is a copy of the check issued to Russia. Sitka was the official site where this took place.

This photo is of President Eisenhower signing Alaska into statehood on January 3, 1959.

As we entered the breakwater to Thompson Harbor we could see the extinct volcano Mt. Edgecumbe in the mist looming on the horizon at 3,200 ft. Sitka became the capital of Russian Alaska in 1808 and remained so until 1906 when it was moved to Juneau. It was the major port of the North Pacific coast.

Thompson Harbor is the largest of the five harbors in Sitka.

The Native Tlingit culture and Russian influences make for a fascinating mix.

This home is located in the Native neighborhood near the waterfront.

In that same neighborhood is evidence of Russian history.

The Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel was originally built in 1844. Due to a devastating fire it was reconstructed to its former state in 1966. The signature

"Onion Dome" is typical of Russian architecture.

The interior was brought back to life by the restoration experts. Bits of the original wall paper were used to create new wall coverings. Much of the furnishings are original as is the portrait of the Russian Czar Alexander II who sold Alaska to the United States in 1867.

The Russian Bishop's House was completed in 1842. The Russian Orthodox Church closed the house in 1969 because it was in such a state of bad repair it was in danger of collapsing.

This is Bishop Innocent's Chapel of the Annunciation. The icons and paintings are original. The house was built for him when he assumed leadership of Alaska and Kamchatka in 1841.