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N0KFQ > TODAY 24.07.14 15:40l 62 Lines 2752 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Jul 24
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Sent: 140724/1441Z 30050@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.60
Jul 24, 1915:
Hundreds drown in Eastland disaster
On this day in 1915, the steamer Eastland overturns in the
Chicago River, drowning between 800 and 850 of its passengers who
were heading to a picnic. The disaster was caused by serious
problems with the boat's design, which were known but never
remedied.
The Eastland was owned by the St. Joseph-Chicago Steamship
Company and made money ferrying people from Chicago to picnic
sites on the shores of Lake Michigan. When the Eastland was
launched in 1903, it was designed to carry 650 passengers, but
major construction and retrofitting in 1913 supposedly allowed
the boat to carry 2,500 people. That same year, a naval architect
presciently told officials that the boat needed work, stating
unless structural defects are remedied to prevent listing, there
may be a serious accident.
On July 24, employees of Western Electric Company were heading to
an annual picnic. About 7,300 people arrived at 6 a.m. at the
dock between LaSalle and Clark streets to be carried out to the
site by five steamers. While bands played, much of the
crowd_perhaps even more than the 2,500 people allowed_boarded the
Eastland. Some reports indicate that the crowd may also have all
gathered on one side of the boat to pose for a photographer, thus
creating an imbalance on the boat. In any case, engineer Joseph
Erikson opened one of the ballast tanks, which holds water within
the boat and stabilizes the ship, and the Eastland began tipping
precariously.
Some claim that the crew of the boat jumped back to the dock when
they realized what was happening. What is known for sure is that
the Eastland capsized right next to the dock, trapping hundreds
of people on or underneath the large ship. Rescuers quickly
attempted to cut through the hull with torches, allowing them to
pull out 40 people alive. More than 800 others perished. Police
divers pulled up body after body, causing one diver to break down
in a rage. The city sent workers out with a large net to prevent
bodies from washing out into the lake. Twenty-two entire families
died in the tragedy.
Most of the corpses were taken to the Second Regiment Armory,
which is now home to Harpo Studios and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Some of the show's employees have claimed that the studio is
haunted by ghosts of the Eastland disaster.
The Eastland was pulled up from the river, renamed the Willimette
and converted into a naval vessel. It was turned into scrap
following World War II. All lawsuits against the owners of the
Eastland were thrown out by a court of appeals and the exact
cause of the tipping and subsequent disaster has never been
determined.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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