On August 14, 1784, a Russian fur trader founded Three Saints Bay on Kodiak Island. This was the first permanent Russian settlement in Alaska. Explorers first arrived in Alaska in 1741 when a Russian expedition sighted the Alaskan mainland. Hunters were soon making incursions into Alaska. But Russian interests in Alaska declined as their economy faltered. In 1867. William Seward arranged for purchase of what was then called “Seward’s Folly.” That changed when gold was discovered in 1898.
