Alaska Life

Memorial for 1918 steamship tragedy dedicated on beach near Juneau

JUNEAU – A memorial has been placed on a beach northwest of Juneau in memory of a Canadian passenger liner that sank a century ago, killing about 350 people.

Juneau members of Pioneers of Alaska dedicated a 10,000-pound slab of granite and quartz Saturday at Eagle Beach State Recreation Area to remember the sinking of the SS Princess Sophia, the Juneau Empire reported.

The 245-foot steamship sank on Oct. 25, 1918, after grounding on Vanderbilt Reef in Lynn Canal, northwest of Eagle Beach.

Members of an Alaska fraternal organization had worked for about five years to raise funds and develop the memorial. The sinking, one of the worst maritime disasters in Alaska history, had ripple effects on the region, said Fred Thorsteinson, king regent of the Igloo 6 – a group that strives to preserve Alaska history.

"It was a major event in the history of the Yukon territory and Alaska. It had lasting effects," Thorsteinson said. "It was just a forgotten event. A lot of people didn't know about it, so we thought it was an important thing to do."

Two people related to a passenger on the ship attended the dedication. Maxine Harper Richert and Toni Mallott are relatives of Walter Harper, an Alaska Native man known for his mountaineering and outdoors skills. He died at the age of 25 with his wife onboard the ship. They died hand in hand, Harper Richert said of her great uncle.

"My mom had heard stories of when they brought the bodies back, how hard it was on the people," Harper Richert said. "I am happy that 100 years from then they are still paying tribute."

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