552 The Princess Price
Fun Fact #552
The Princess Price
As World War 1 was nearing its conclusion, the opposite side of the world would face a turning point which would decide the fate of an entire region of North America as the passenger liner SS Princess Sofia literally sat on the edge of doom.
Seeing the potential economic benefit the region possessed thanks to its strategic location for shipping, and resources in the area, several notable people from 24 countries decided to start up businesses there. The first year (1917) they did this went extremely well where they surveyed, bought and had land cleared to expand local canneries, ports and military suppliers, while also getting the permits needed to install a telegraph line, start Ice harvesting to supply the west coast year-round, and lay groundwork for future mines in the area. The second year in 1918 they obtained several contracts and began hiring workers, leading to businesses tailored to support these larger businesses popping up accelerating growth in the local economy.
However at the time it was common practice for those who could, to flee south for the winter, which is precisely what The SS Princess Sofia’s 380 passengers were doing on the night of October 24th 1918. Running 3 hours behind thanks to the lack of visibility, Captain Locke decided to have the ship run at full speed (13 knots) as they went through the Lynn Canal –down the center where Vanderbuilt Reef is located. Due to being at high tide, they beached themselves on the reef, and even though multiple ships responded to the distress call, the ship did not launch lifeboats believing that Hightide would float it off the reef in the morning. This was not to be, and they wound up being stuck there for another 2 days before a storm twisted the ship on its perch killing everyone aboard. Only a Chessie dog known as “Tommy” survived, being found 15 miles away in Tee Bay shortly afterwards.
Today when the wreck is discussed it's often referred to as “The Forgotten Titanic of The Pacific” as it was the worst maritime disaster in the Pacific, but in truth it was way worse than The Titanic.
The loss of almost all the investors of Region in one fell swoop killed any hope for the economy leading to a mass exodus south draining Alaska, The Yukon, and British Columbia of its population. This only hastened after the region was hit by The Spanish Flu. Later The Eskimo tribes went into hiding to avoid paying new taxes placed upon them by the Canadian government to help finance relief to the area and even today most tribes only make contact with civilization once every 2-3 years to trade for essentials. Even the Oil industry doesn't spend on expanding the region’s economy beyond what’s needed to stay in operation leading to Oil and Gas making up an outsized portion of the economy.
Simply put, the Region has never recovered from the wreck, and every year it gets harder to see a future where it ever will…
To end on a brighter note, There are several projects to fix this today and some like Invest Anchorage have begun to see success build each year since it’s creation.
The Princess Sofia Stuck on Vanderbuilt Reef October 25th 1918
