The following resources may be of help to those who wish to continue extended research into the Eastland disaster. Many of these books disagree on so many important facts. Where one source claims that the Eastland fell on its starboard side, others accurately tell of the ship falling on its port side. Sources vary on the time the Eastland actually rolled over, anywhere from 7:20 to 7:30 a.m., and there are many variances in the spelling of names of the ship's officers. There are also discrepancies in the list of ships which were to take part in the Western Electric excursion that day. Death toll statistics range from 812 to 844. Researching the Eastland disaster is no easy task. It has been the Eastland Memorial Society's goal to discover and report the truth. For those interested in Chicago history and Great Lakes maritime history, please review our related resources section.

REFERENCE MATERIALS

Hilton, George W. EASTLAND: Legacy of the TITANIC. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1995. ISBN 0-8047-2291-9 | G530.EI8H55 1995 | 977.3'II-dc20.
To call this book thorough and detailed would be a great understatement. Hilton's book is so thoroughly researched that readers will be inundated with more details about the EASTLAND than they will ever remember or care about. However, we believe this source to be the most accurate and we would recommend it to anyone who wants to develop a strong sense of the ship's history. While the naval technical jargon is difficult to understand at times, it is not insurmountable to a tenacous reader. The most notable characteristic of this book, other than the photographs of the ship before, during, and after the disaster, is a list of the names, ages, and occupations of the victims. Available online through Amazon in hardcover or paperback.

The Eastland Disaster - Southport Video of Kenosha, Wisconsin 1999.
Southport Video has produced a 55 minute documentary about the Eastland disaster. It is titled "The Eastland Disaster" and it covers the background of the vessel, information on the actual disaster, and the story of the ship following its salvage and restoration. The film shows many different pictures of the ship, the disaster scene, and the individuals involved. Most notably, the video features testimonials from several people who have researched the Eastland extensively, including Dr. George Hilton, author of "Eastland: Legacy of the Titanic." You can find out more information or order this video by going to Southport Video's site.

These books each contain chapters on the Eastland:

Bowen, Dana T. Lore of the Lakes. Daytona Beach: Dana Thomas Bowen, 1940.
Boyer, Dwight. True Tales of the Great Lakes. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Co, 1971.
Snow, Edward Rowe. Disaster at Sea. Three Volumes in One: Marine Mysteries and Dramatic Disaster of New England; Sea Disasters and Inland Catastrophes; Pirates, Shipwrecks and Historic Chronicles.
Caesar, Pete. Lake Michigan Wreck! Green Bay: Great Lakes Marine Research, 1979. This source contains most of the major discrepancies. Either the author had access to information that no other writer has, or was just really confused. The reliability of this source is in doubt.
Ratigan, William. Great Lakes Shipwrecks and Survivals. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1977.

Visiting your local library to check out microfilm of newspaper articles from the week following July 24, 1915 can be very fruitful, especially if you live in the vicinity of the Great Lakes! Almost all newspapers ran front page headlines through July 27th, 1915.

RELATED ORGANIZATIONS

The Dave and Rose Nelson Eastland Collection

Center for History,
A Facility of the Wheaton Historic Preservation Council
P.O. Box 373, Wheaton, IL;
Alberta Adamson, President & CEO.

David Nelson has also produced a video entitled 'Remember the Eastland', which is available through interlibrary loan from these public libraries: Wheaton (IL), Glen Ellen (IL), Downers Grove (IL) and Michigan City (IN).