For a brief time after the October 1867 transfer ceremonies, there was a rush of Americans to Alaska. Most of these went to the previous Russian capital of New Archangel, whose name was changed to Sitka. According to one source, more than 30 ships sailed from San Francisco to Alaska in July 1867. Those aboard were eager to share in Alaska's supposed riches.
By November 1867, about 115 American civilians in Sitka were willing to sign a city government charter. Although there was interest in the new territory's economic potential for fishing, trapping, and whaling, only a few Americans went beyond Sitka to other places, such as Wrangell, Kodiak, Kenai, and the Yukon River valley. One historian has concluded that in the years immediately after the 1867 transfer ceremonies, "Sitka was for all practical purposes the American frontier in Alaska."
Drawing of Sitka in 1867
In general, there were three primary reasons individual Americans came to Alaska right after the 1867 purchase. Some came because the government sent them. Soldiers, sailors, and other government officials fell into this category. Some came because they wanted to earn livelihoods in trade and commerce. Merchants, traders, and smugglers fell into this category. And some came because they wanted to earn livelihoods exploiting Alaska's natural resources. Catchers and salters of fish, fur hunters, whalers, prospectors, and miners fell into this category.
Russians in the territory were disappointed at the sale of Alaska to the U.S. According to an American witness, the townspeople of Sitka "....seemed as though they were preparing for the funeral of the Tsar, going about the town in a most dejected manner." The treaty of purchase guaranteed Russians the privileges of U.S. citizenship and the option of remaining in Alaska for three years to decide. However, few Russians did so. Most returned to Russia.
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