Princess Sophia Film Preview and Discussion
Friday, October 25 at 2:00pm
APK Lecture Hall
The Alaska State Museum and Standing Tide Productions will host a free afternoon event commemorating the 106th anniversary of the sinking of the Princess Sophia. Homer, Alaska filmmaker Silas Firth will give a presentation and partial preview of his documentary-in-process about the sinking of the ship.
The presentation will take place on Friday, October 25, 2024 at 2:00 pm in the APK Lecture Hall. Firth will discuss the history of the sinking, its effects on Alaska history, and the development of a documentary that memorializes the event. A 15-minute “sneak-peek” screening of parts of the upcoming film will be shared, along with progress made toward completing it.
The film explores Alaska's deadliest maritime disaster, which took place in Lynn Canal 30 miles northwest of Juneau in 1918. The Princess Sophia was carrying prospectors and others on one of the last steamship runs of the season out of the Klondike, headed for Vancouver and Victoria. In a blinding snowstorm, the Sophia ran aground on Vanderbilt Reef at 2 am, where it remained for over 40 hours, until the hull was torn open and it sank to the sea floor with no survivors.
Many small communities lost prominent citizens in the sinking, but the tragedy has largely been forgotten, particularly outside Southeast Alaska. Filmmaker Silas Firth said he was surprised this history isn’t taught in high school history classes and remarked that his goal is “…to keep this story alive, to honor those who were lost, and to examine the unique culture and period of history the Sophia represented and what we can learn from that today."
Earlier in the day, anyone interested in further commemorating this event is welcome to attend a very brief noontime service and reading of names of those passengers buried in Evergreen cemetery. People are asked to gather at the graves of Walter Harper and his bride Frances Wells. According to local historian Mary Lou Spartz, a group of Juneauites interested in this history has gathered at the cemetery each year to pause and remember the over 350 lives lost.
Earlier this year, a beautiful bronze statue of the lone survivor—a dog—was erected along the North Tee Harbor trail in Juneau.
The Alaska State Museum hosts a spectacular permanent collection as well as temporary exhibitions. For museum hours, rates, and more information, visit museums.alaska.gov. Contact the museum at (907) 465-2901.
A person experiencing a disability who needs accommodation for events hosted by the Alaska State Library, Archives, and Museum can contact the division’s ADA coordinator at (907) 465-2912. Please contact us a week in advance so we can make any necessary arrangements.
Media Contact: Amy Phillips-Chan, 907.465.8718
Director, Alaska Division of Libraries, Archives and Museums
Image: S.S. Princess Sophia, ASL-P255-79-79
