The Steamer Eastland

The Eastland served as a passenger liner between Cleveland and the Cedar Point amusement park from 1907 to 1913. 

                                 

In its final season in 1913, it is estimated that the Eastland carried 200,000 people to and from Cedar Point. A steam calliope entertained passengers on the Eastland on their boat ride. Below is a postcard of the Eastland arriving at Cedar Point.

              

In 1911, S.J. Monck wrote words and music to a song titled On the Boat Eastland. It was considered the waltz hit of that summer season. The Sandusky Library Archives Research Center owns a photocopy of the sheet music.

 

By 1915, the Eastland had moved to Chicago as its primary port. It became infamous for the disaster of July 24, 1915. More than 800 people lost their lives when the boat rolled over into the Chicago River just at the edge of the wharf shortly after its departure. The Eastland Disaster Historical Society is devoted to the memory of those who lost their lives in this tragedy.

Ohio State Medical Association's Annual Meeting at Cedar Point, 1907

From August 28 to August 30, 1907, the Sixty-Second Annual Meeting of the Ohio State Medical Association convened at Cedar Point. Attendees had the choice of staying at the Breakers Hotel at Cedar Point, or at hotels in the city of Sandusky.

      

Physicians could travel to Sandusky by four different railroads, the Lake Shore Electric Railway, or by the Steamer Eastland, which traveled between Cleveland and Sandusky every day.

                

The Steamer Hazel connected visitors from Toledo, Port Clinton, Marblehead to Cedar Point and Sandusky every two hours. The House of Delegates was called to order at 10 a.m. General meetings were held at the Convention Hall at Cedar Point. Other meetings were held at the Opera House and the Breakers.

  

Several lectures were delivered,  election of officers and committee members were held, and section meetings were held throughout the several days of the Annual Meeting. Dr. George W. Crile of Cleveland, Ohio spoke on “The Surgery of the Stomach” at the Symposium on Diseases of the Stomach. Dr. Charles H. Mayo, of Rochester, Minnesota, gave a special address on “Goiter.” Several pages of The Ohio State Medical Journal of August 15, 1907 were devoted to the proceedings of this meeting. 

The August 31, 1907 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that “The meeting was without doubt the most successful in every way ever held.” Members of the Erie County Medical Association assisted in making preparations for the  Annual Meeting. Dr. Carrie Chase Davis was head of the committee in charge of Entertainment of Visiting Ladies. Besides the regular sessions at the Annual Meeting of the Ohio State Medical Association, there were opportunities for the members to go boating on the lake and attend the theater. On Friday evening, a ball was held at the Coliseum at Cedar Point.