Photo Credit (Above), Chicago Maritime Museum

presented by Dr. Caitlyn Perry Dial of the Michigan Women’s Historical Center

In the summer of 1915, the passenger boat Eastland called St. Joseph, Michigan home. Owned by the St. Joseph-Chicago Steamship Company, Eastland transported passengers daily between the cities of St. Joseph and Chicago. On July 24, 1915, the Western Electric Company chartered the boat to transport 2,500 of their employees to a company picnic in Michigan City. Eastland capsized while still tied to the dock, killing 844 people. This presentation will discuss the boat’s history, the events of that day, and how after a century the tragedy remains the Great Lakes’ greatest disaster in terms of loss of life. **Some of the images shown during the presentation are graphic and show body recovery.**