Remnants of the SS Eastland Disaster - Lost, Missing & Hidden

The Eastland Disaster, The Chicago Tribune
A summer excursion turns into the worst accident in the annals of Great Lakes shipping.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-chicagodays-eastlanddisaster-...
As it was being cast loose from its moorings on the south bank of the Chicago River between LaSalle and Clark Streets, the Eastland slowly settled on its side. The ship was only a few feet from the wharf, where a large crowd of horrified spectators watched, and it was in only 20 feet of water. That, however, was deep enough to drown 844 people who were trapped or trampled below decks.Although most were young factory workers from Berwyn and Cicero, 21 entire families were wiped out.

"The screaming was terrible," one man told the Tribune, which devoted 11 pages of coverage to the disaster. "I watched one woman who seemed to be thrown from the top deck. . . . I saw her white hat float down the river, and that was all."