Tacoma Mourns Five Residents Lost on the Steamship Clallam
Tacoma reels from the loss of five residents in a deadly steamboat sinking as questions of seaworthiness arise.
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No casualty in recent years has caused such universal mourning in this city as the wreck of the steamship Clallam, when five Tacoma people lost their lives. All of the victims were well known here and had friends by the score. Probably the best known of the victims was Captain Charles W. Thompson, a prominent mining executive, who leaves an invalid wife and five small children. Professor W. H. Gibbons, the popular organist of the First Congregational church, also perished, leaving a widow and three children. Other victims include Bruno Lehman, a customs inspector noted for his bravery, and Miss Ethel Diprose. As the body of Professor Gibbons arrived via the Flyer, the church where he once played was draped in mourning. Meanwhile, in Victoria, an inquest is underway to determine how the steamer, which was reported to be in good condition, could have foundered so disastrously.
“At the Congregational church yesterday the organist from which Professor Gibbons had so long drawn music that attracted people from far and near was draped in mourning.”
The sinking of the Clallam in 1904 remains a grim reminder of the dangers inherent in Puget Sound's early maritime transit infrastructure. Today, while we rely on the Washington State Ferry system, the event resonates as a foundational tragedy in Tacoma's maritime history, mirroring how modern industrial accidents still shape civic discourse around safety regulations.
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