It is considered one of the worst maritime catastrophes in American history. No, it is not the Titanic. Most people don’t even know it is Chicago’s worst single disaster.It was the S.S. Eastland disaster of July 24, 1915.
On the south side of the Chicago River near the Clark Street bridge in Chicago, thousands of Western Electric Co. employees and their families gathered to board the excursion steamer for the annual company picnic in Michigan City, Ind.
Fred and Delia Rabe of the city’s Austin neighborhood, had met while working for Western Electric and eventually married. With their two children in tow, they, like so many other employees, believed the day was going to be the perfect family outing.
Kenneth and Grace Rabe, were only 4 and 8 years old, respectively. Neither had been on a ship before.
I suppose we were very excited, remembered Grace (Rabe) Nilsen, 92, now residing in the Villa Scalabrini Home for the Aged in Northlake. It was the first time we were on a ship.
Though only 4, a ‘’smart 4 as he puts it, brother Kenneth says he remembers the tragic event. I remember that it was not a cold day, but it was overcast and I remember walking with my sister, mother and father to catch the street car, said Rabe, 88. I was wearing my sailor suit for the event and I remember I was quite jubilant, as everyone was. It was to be a nice little boat ride across the lake to Michigan City for a picnic.
Passengers enthusiastically began loading onto the ship at a rate of 50 per minute, until reaching the capacity of 2,572.
At first we headed for the lower decks, but my parents thought it was much too crowded and noisy because everyone was celebrating. So they moved us to the upper decks and thank goodness they did, Kenneth said.
What started out as a day of fun, quickly turned into tragedy.
Just as the passenger steamer cast off from the dock, the ship immediately began listing, or leaning, back and forth.
At approximately 7:30 a.m., only 20 minutes after all of the passengers had boarded, the list became so severe the Eastland rolled over on its port side and settled on the muddy bottom of the Chicago River.
It was horrible. Everything turned to chaos. People began falling and some were jumping into the water. I saw those people grasping onto anything they could and struggling in the water.
We were on the right side of the ship, the side that didn’t go under. We climbed over the boat and I can remember it was very slippery very slippery and my mother and father had control of us. Thank God and we were able to climb to the dock, said Rabe.
John Nilsen, Grace’s son, lives in Elmwood Park. He knows his mother, uncle, grandmother and grandfather were among the fortunate ones.
They were able to get to safety and got themselves to the part of the ship that didn’t go under, he said he has been told. But other people were going into the ship and getting trapped.
And still others were either trapped under the ship or were struggling to stay afloat in the river’s current.
Anyone and everyone who heard the piercing screams and shrills of panic tried to help including Grace and Ken’s father, who saved a woman who became trapped in one of the portholes.
When we got to the dock my mom and dad sat us down and my dad went back to the boat, Kenneth recalled. A family friend of ours, Anne Johnson, was stuck in one of the portholes and he lifted her out.
Kenneth also said he remembers that as the tragedy and chaos swirled around him, he was not afraid. The shock set in later.
You know, I don’t remember being scared right away. It wasn’t until two or three hours later that I started shaking all over, said Kenneth. I just thank God my mom and dad had control over us and knew what to do. It was such a horrible day.
By the afternoon, the Second Regiment Armory on Washington Boulevard had been established as the central morgue. By midnight, those who feared they may have lost a loved one were admitted to see the casualties.
In the end, 844 people died, including three crew members.
More people died in the Eastland disaster than perished in the Great Chicago Fire, making it Chicago’s worst single disaster. More passengers of the Eastland died than passengers of the Titanic since casualties of the Titanic were largely crew members.
Still, not many people have knowledge of the disaster.
It is hard to figure out why it is not really known by most people, even people from this area, said John Nilsen. It is the worst thing that has ever happened in Chicago’s history and nobody has heard of it.
Kenneth said when he tells people he was aboard the Eastland, few know what he is talking about.
They say, ‘What?’ Then I tell them about it. I think providing publicity about this is worthwhile because it was such a horrible thing, I mean about 850 people died. I doubt that it is in the history books and I think it should be given its due attention, Kenneth said.
He added since the historic day, he and his wife have taken more than 100 cruises and each time he has thought of the Eastland.
But just as the knowledge of the Eastland and its survivors is largely unknown, so too is the exact cause of why the ship turned on its side.
Some have speculated the ship was poorly engineered and was top heavy, even though it passed federal inspections.
Extensive and complex investigations, as well as lawsuits, followed the disaster, but turned up nothing concrete.
The United States Court of Appeals ruled in 1935, the St. Joseph-Chicago Steamship Co., the ship’s manufacturer, was not liable for the deaths in the disaster, that the ship was seaworthy, and that operators took proper precautions.
While the Eastland was refloated rather quickly, renamed the U.S.S. Wilimette and refitted as a naval training vessel, it was eventually broken up for scrap in 1947.
It is believed there are only about four or five survivors from the Eastland disaster still living today.
Beginning this February, the Museum of Science and Industry will unveil what they claim is the world’s largest display on the Titanic.
A spokeswoman for the museum said there also will be about 75 linear feet devoted to the Eastland disaster, whereby photographs, video and artifacts will serve to represent Chicago’s forgotten disaster.
