Sadly, the names of those who perished on the Princess Sophia were not, as a Dawson City newspaper said a year after the sinking, "enshrined forever in the hearts of Dawson." In fact, the disaster was almost forgotten, partly because it was overshadowed by the ending of World War I. The memory was revived by the 1991 book, The Sinking of the Princess Sophia, by historians Ken Coates and Bill Morrison.
The disaster deserves to be remembered because it was truly a disaster, not just for those who lost their lives but for the northern communities they came from, particularly Dawson. Many were community leaders; others were the families, business people, and skilled workers that form the core of community life. It was common for such people to head south for the winter and return in the summer. Those aboard the Princess Sophia would never return, and their loss was devastating.
Among those lost were: a Dawson town councillor, along with his wife and five children; a number of business leaders; members of five separate White Pass & Yukon riverboat crews, whose knowledge of river navigation was lost with them; scores of skilled and experienced tradesmen and seasonal workers who could not be replaced.
In 1918, Dawson City was in the twilight of its life as a Gold Rush town. The rush was long gone, and much of the gold with it. There was still commerce, and a community, and lingering hope of a golden future -- but much of that hope went down with the Princess Sophia.
