Alaska timeline: a hike through history.

• Author: Bohi, Heidi
• Position: 50TH STATEHOOD ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL SECTION - Chronology

With only 50 years of statehood under its belt, there are certainly states outside of Alaska that have longer historical timelines mapping out important developmental events. Still, any historian would be hard-pressed to find a historical accounting that is as dramatic and unpredictable as the chronology of events that continues to form and define the largest and most multifaceted state in the union. From the early 18th century when Captain James Cook set out to search for the Northwest Passage, to the purchase of Alaska for two cents an acre, to the Klondike Gold Rush that was the first economic boom for the state, and the wild ride that lead up to the passage of statehood, Alaska has always had a knack for grabbing top billing. And the 50 years since the passage of statehood have been no exception. Since Jan. 3, 1959, when President Eisenhower signed the official declaration that made Alaska the 49th state in the union, its story has been a page turner, each chapter adding one more layer of rich history to Alaska's half century.

1964 THE GREAT ALASKA EARTHQUAKE

The Great Alaska earthquake on March 27, 1964, killed 131 people, the result of ground fissures, collapsing building and tidal waves that devastated communities throughout the Southcentral region. Highways and railroads were inoperable, the port facilities unusable, and water and sewerage systems out of operation. Besides being the most powerful earthquake recorded in U.S. and North American history--the five-minute disaster registered 8.4 on the Richter scale--more than 10,000 aftershocks were recorded after the main shock. In the first day alone, 11 major aftershocks were recorded with a magnitude greater than 6.0 and it was not until 18 months later that the delayed tremors ended.

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While it represented a turning point for Alaska history--economically, the earthquake and the major tsunami it generated are still regarded as one of the best things to ever happen to the state. Millions of dollars were spent reconstructing Anchorage, the hardest hit city, along with communities statewide. At the time, Alaska was a new state having just been granted statehood five years before in 1959. The country was in the midst of the Cold War and involvement in the Vietnam War was escalating, making Alaska strategically even more important. Evacuating the state and shutting down the economy was not an option, as the federal government was concerned with the impact of the event on the social and economic system. The feds made it clear that restoration had to be completed as fast as possible, especially considering the short construction period before the onset of the harsh Alaska winter.

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President Lyndon B. Johnson convened his cabinet in a disaster policy role into the Federal Reconstruction and Development Commission for Alaska with the objective of restoring what had been destroyed and to use the disaster as a means to promote future development. Nine task forces were immediately established to deal with different aspects of the reconstruction. They operated so effectively that reconstruction was all but completed and major public facilities were back in operation before the construction season ended, setting peacetime records.

It would not be the last time that Alaska learned that disasters produce positive economic benefits after the initial economic hit. Despite time pressures...