The Haines Sheldon Museum will open a 100th anniversary commemorative exhibit, “Titanic of the North: S.S. Princess Sophia,” on Friday, Nov. 9.
A storm forced the Canadian Pacific steamer aground on Vanderbilt Reef after leaving Skagway on Oct. 23, 1918. Rescue crews circled the steamer waiting to unload passengers until the storm drove them away. None of the 353 passengers or crew survived the ship’s sinking.
The sinking remains the worst maritime accident in Alaska and British Columbia history.
The exhibit will feature several computer kiosks intermixed with items recovered from the Princess Sophia held in the Sheldon Museum’s collection including a wooden cribbage board, a brass post and a piece of carpet from the dance floor.
Three computer kiosks include one with information about passengers and crew and another with an animated model of the ship and associated background info. Visitors can watch on the third kiosk 18 vignettes, 60 minutes of total content, with background information from Dawson City up to the latest information about the shipwreck today.
The Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Chapter funded the exhibit that was researched and created by the Maritime Museum of British Columbia and the Vancouver Maritime Museum.
The exhibit opens in the Hakkinen Gallery Friday, Nov. 9 at 5 p.m. and runs through Jan. 25.