Photos: A visit to the upstate New York home of William Seward and Harriet Tubman

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 13

A room in the basement of the Seward House Museum used as a stop on the Underground Railroad, where people fleeing slavery hid on their way to Canada. Photographed in March 2016

AUBURN, N. Y. -- On March 28 Alaskans will observe the 149th anniversary of the treaty that transferred Russian America to the United States. Seward's Day usually doesn't see much in the way of celebration. Few if any parades, department store sales, buffets or joyful public assemblies, even in Alaska. And, of course, no one outside Alaska cares.

Except here, the adopted hometown of William H. Seward, the 24th Secretary of State for the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln's "indispensable" political ally, resourceful diplomat and the man who single-handedly acquired the greatest chunk of American territory since the Louisiana Purchase.

On a recent visit to Auburn I was struck by posters advertising a Seward's Day Trivia Contest. It will take place in the popular Prison City Pub and Brewery. (There's usually a waiting list to get in.) Highlights include the release of a new blonde ale dubbed "Seward's Folly." One dollar from each pint sold will be donated to the Seward House Museum.

Read more: Seward's Day in Seward's town