Marking the Centennial of the 1915 SS Eastland Disaster-- Part 1: Many Don't Know About It

From the June 5, 2015, Chicago Tribune "Society to mark centennial of 1915 Eastland disaster" by Dawn Rhodes.

On July 25, 1915, the SS Eastland listed to its side in the Chicago River and sent hundreds  of passengers into the water, killing 844 people, including nearly two dozen whole families.

What started out as a day of fun including a boat trip to a picnic in Michigan City, Indiana, ended in Chicago's worse tragedy, much worse than the Great Chicago Fire and with deaths approaching those on the much-better known Titanic.

These days, descendants of an Eastland survivor are battling to preserve the doomed ship's memory.

Ted Wachholz, executive director of the Eastland Historical Society based in Arlington Heights said: "There are countless instances when we're talking to someone who has lived in Chicago their whole lives and they have never heard of it."