Alaska

30th March 1867 saw the signing of the land treaty for Alaska, with the purchase from Russia by the United States of America for a sum of $7.2 million. Less than 2-cents per acre. Russia was keen to sell the territory but there were many critics in the U.S., claiming it was a waste of money. Once gold was discovered there in 1899, views changed. Alaska became the 49th state on January 3, 1959.