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Early on the morning of July 24, 1915, the lake passenger steamer Eastland cast off from the Chicago River dock at the Clark Street Bridge with On board 2,572, all Western Electric Company employees and their families.
What was to have been a pleasant Lake Michigan cruise and picnic quickly turned into Chicago's worst single disaster. As she pulled away from the dock, the Eastland. slowly rolled over on her side and settled on the mud of the river bottom.
Of the 2,572 persons on board, 844+ lost their lives
For the 1,728 who did survive, their lives would be changed forever
This is dedicated to the 1915 Western Electric Family - the 844 who perished and those who survived - to the firefighters, police, and Chicago citizens who rushed to their aid.
your bravery will be remembered!
Photos ....
Lyman Atwell, Chicago Herald
Fred Eckhardt, Chicago Daily News
Jun Fujita, Chicago Evening Post
Robert Hollihan Sr, Chicago American
Godfrey Lundberg, Chicago Tribune
Chicago Historical Society
Karl J. Sup Collection
MaritimeQuest
Music
Aaron Copeland
Fanfare for the Common Man
Andy Street & Krys Mach
Celestial Light
Light of Day
Info: http://www.bcieclipse.com
conceived and produced by: Dale Caruso
For more information concerning the 1915 Eastland Disaster, I highly reccomded the following web sites:
The Eastland Memorial Society
www.eastlandmemorial.org
The Eastland Disaster Historical Society
http://www.eastlanddisaster.org/
The Chicago Public Library (The Eastland Disaster)
http://www.eastlanddisaster.org/
The Bell System Memorial
http://www.porticus.org/bell/eastland...
Tags:
1915
Eastland
Disaster
Chicago
Western
Electric
shipping
disaster
1915
Eastland
Disaster
Chicago
Western
Electric
shipping
disaster
Added: 25th September 2008
Views: 98
Rating: 
Posted By: dalecaruso |
 
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Posted by: Naomi on 2008-09-25
Wow, this is the first time I've ever seen this, I had no idea. Did investigators ever find out exactly what could have caused this ship to roll over and sink like that? It seems so odd.
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Nice piece/production, Dale. Thank you for doing your part to share a little bit of Chicago's greatest tragedy with your audience.
In response to Naomi's question, investigators never did ascertain the cause. All defendants in the criminal case were acquitted. The civil case - which did not conclude until some TWENTY years later - blamed Chief Engineer Joseph Erickson for improperly managing the ballast tanks that morning. (Sidebar: Erickson died of heart disease several years before the verdict was handed down.) A total of 844 people perished due to someone's negligence, yet no money was awarded to the victims' families by the courts.
The Eastland was designed and built for speed. It was a narrow ship that sat very high in the water. This caused the Eastland to be very unstable. In fact, the Eastland had a history of near accidents and was known as a very cranky and top-heavy ship. Once constructed and in service, numerous modifications were subsequently made to the Eastland including the addition of several lifeboats – lifeboats that were added as a result of the Titanic disaster. These modifications added to the top-heaviness of the Eastland, making it even less stable in the water. Ironically, the lifeboats – including those added due to the Titanic – were never deployed or used.
The bottom line: The Eastland rolled into the Chicago River as a result of its instability (which was compounded by adding over 2,500 passengers and crew that morning).
Ted Wachholz
Executive Director
Eastland Disaster Historical Society
http://www.eastlanddisaster.org
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Much to my amazement, I've never heard of this tragedy before. Now I have.
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