Eastland Disaster 100th Anniversary
The Eastland was an early 20th-century excursion liner. The passenger ship was part of one of the worst maritime disasters in U.S. history. In July of 2015, we're looking back to remember this tragic moment in Chicago’s history.
by Jen Masengarb
Dressed in their weekend finery—long white linen dresses; suits, ties, hats—more than 7,000 people gathered along the main stem of the Chicago River on a rainy morning in late July, 1915. Employees and friends of the Western Electric Company eagerly waited to step aboard one of six passenger ships chartered by the company and docked along the river.
The Eastland—docked between Clark and LaSalle Streets—and the five other ships were headed for Michigan City, Indiana, for a day of company-sponsored games, races, picnics and swimming. At around 6:30am, thousands of passengers began boarding the Eastland, most of them young singles in their 20s and 30s, along with many families with children.
The young employees manufactured telephone equipment at the Hawthorn Works of the Western Electric Company. Located on the outskirts of Chicago, the Hawthorn Works complex employed more than 45,000 people. Many were first and second generation Czech and German immigrants.
How did the Eastland Disaster happen?
As the ship quickly filled with passengers that morning, it began to list toward the dock (starboard). Sensing a problem, the chief engineer began to fill the ship’s ballasts with water, which allowed the ship to momentarily right itself. Passengers then gathered on the upper decks along the river side, and the ship began to list in the opposite direction (port). Once again, the engineer tried to adjust by pumping water into the starboard ballast tanks. But it was too late.
Carried by its momentum, the top-heavy ship quickly rolled to its port side, trapping passengers below deck, in the sewage-filled water of the Chicago River. More than 800 people drowned within minutes, just a few feet from shore, before the eyes of horrified onlookers.
The Eastland disaster remains one of the worst maritime disasters in American history. In the wake of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, public demand for maritime safety had prompted changes to the Eastland, including the addition of lifeboats on the top deck. Sadly, this extra weight on top contributed to the ship’s instability.
In the hours and days after the tragedy, the newly-constructed Reid, Murdoch & Co. Building served as a makeshift rescue headquarters and morgue. Today, many of our CAC River Cruise docents pause for a somber moment of silence between Clark and LaSalle Streets to honor the Eastland victims and hundreds of first responders.
Ask any Chicagoan about the 1871 Great Chicago Fire and most will be able to tell the story of the O’Leary’s cabin and the path of destruction that wiped out the downtown and killed 300 people. But the story of the Eastland disaster, and the 844 people who lost their lives, remains much less known.
Led by the efforts of the Eastland Disaster Historical Society, Chicagoans commemorated the 100th anniversary of the tragedy on July 24, 2015. Two public ceremonies at the river and a series of weekend activities honored and remembered those who lost their lives.
In February 2015, a British online newsreel archive uncovered previously unknown video footage from the rescue efforts. The Eastland Disaster Historical Society maintains a list of passengers, an animation of the ship, a timeline and narrative of the tragedy and dozens of historic photos from July 24, 1915.
