The District of Alaska was the federal government’s designation for Alaska from May 17, 1884, to August 24, 1912, when it became the Territory of Alaska. Previously (1867–1884) it had been known as the Department of Alaska, a military designation.
The designation as a district meant that Alaska became an incorporated but unorganized territory with a civil government. The governor of the District of Alaska was appointed by the president of the United States.
Juneau (/ˈdʒuːnoʊ/ JOO-noh; Tlingit: Dzántik'i Héeni [ˈtsʌ́ntʰɪ̀kʼɪ̀ ˈhíːnɪ̀] transl. Base of the Flounder's River), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906, when the government of what was then the District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900. On July 1, 1970, the City of Juneau merged with the City of Douglas and the surrounding Greater Juneau Borough to form the current consolidated city-borough, which ranks as the second-largest municipality in the United States by area and is larger than both Rhode Island and Delaware.
Downtown Juneau is nestled at the base of Mount Juneau and it is across the channel from Douglas Island. As of the 2020 census, the City and Borough had a population of 32,255, making it the third-most populous city in Alaska after Anchorage and Fairbanks, but the sixth-least populous U.S. state capital. Juneau experiences a daily influx of 21,000 people or more from visiting cruise ships between the months of May and September.
The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; the Department of Alaska, 1867–1884; and the District of Alaska, 1884–1912.