Shipwreck Monday-SS Eastland

 

 

 

The SS Eastland was commissioned in 1902 by the Michigan Steamship Company. She built by the Jenks Ship Building Company. In April 1903, the ship was named by Mrs. David Reid of South Haven, Michigan. Mrs. David Reid received a prize of $10 and a one-season pass on the ship. The ship was named in May, immediately before its inaugural voyage.

 

The SS Eastland was a passenger ship based in Chicago and used for tours. On 24 July 1915 the ship rolled over while tied to a dock in the Chicago River. A total of 844 passengers and crew were killed in what was to become the largest loss of life disaster from a single shipwreck on the Great Lakes.

 

Following the disaster, the Eastland was salvaged and sold to the United States Navy. After restorations and modifications the Eastland was designated as a gunboat and renamed the USS Wilmette. She was used primarily as a training vessel on the Great Lakes and was scrapped following World War II.