The Eastland Disaster: 844 Dead in the Chicago River at the Dock

On July 24, 1915, the SS Eastland was tied to the dock along the Chicago River at the Clark Street Bridge. It never left. The ship — carrying 2,500 Western Electric employees and their families headed to a company picnic — slowly rolled over onto its side while still moored. In less than three minutes, 844 people drowned in 20 feet of water, just a few feet from shore. Many were trapped below decks. More passengers died on the Eastland than passengers on the Titanic, and it remains the deadliest maritime disaster in Great Lakes history. The tragedy is largely forgotten today — overshadowed by the Titanic, which had occurred just three years earlier. The site, on the river's south bank between Clark and LaSalle, is marked by historical markers: the first was placed in 1989, and after it was stolen in 2000, a replacement was dedicated in 2003. The wreck was salvaged, refitted, and — astonishingly — went on to serve as a Navy training vessel until 1945.