As the 100th anniversary of the Eastland disaster approaches, video has turned up that offers some insight into the moments after the tragic incident on the Chicago River.
The incident ended with 844 dead in the shallow waters of the river on July 24, 1915 when the S.S Eastland capsized while tied up at the Clark Street dock. And while numerous images exist, this is the first known archived video footage of the disaster, according to the Eastland Disaster Historical Society.
In the first clip – scroll to the 1:10 mark – rescuers can be seen pulling survivors and victims from the water:
Laatste bioscoop wereldberichten
The second clip, which begins at the 9:10 mark, is in rougher shape, but shows crews working to right the so-called “Speed Queen of the Great Lakes”:
Laatste bioscoop wereldberichten
The footage was found and posted to the Eastland Disaster Historical Society’s Facebook page on Sunday.
Since founding the Eastland Disaster Historical Society 17 years ago, we always felt that video footage existed somewhere, but were never able to locate it. The clips come from EYE Film Instituut Nederland and were brought to light by EDHS Facebook follower Jeff Nichols (thanks, Jeff!). More on the event at EastlandDisaster.org
