This Day in History

In Alaska

• In 1881, the Harrisburgh post office was established. It was renamed the Juneau post office the following January.

• In 1911, the first train load of copper ore arrived in Cordova from Bonanza. This was later celebrated as Copper Day.

• In 1944, the Alaska Juneau Mine closed down at midnight, virtually ending lode mining in the area. It was closed because of a government order mandating a wage increase.

• In 1957, Mike Stepovich, appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower, took office as the ninth and last Governor of the Territory of Alaska.

• In 1958, Ripple Rock, in Seymour Narrows, was destroyed by the then-largest man-made nonatomic explosion in history. Two and a half years in preparation, $3 million, and nearly three million pounds of explosive removed the worst menace to navigation in the 850-mile Inside Passage.