Lady Elgin
Passenger Sidewheel Steamer · United States · Lost 1860 · Chicago & Southern Lake Michigan
A pleasure steamer bound for Milwaukee was rammed by an unlit schooner in a gale, producing the deadliest open-water disaster in Great Lakes history.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Lady Elgin was a wooden sidewheel passenger steamer built in Buffalo in 1851 for the Lake Michigan trade. On the night of September 7-8, 1860, she left Chicago for Milwaukee carrying roughly 400 passengers on a fundraising excursion. In heavy weather she collided with the schooner Augusta and sank within about half an hour. About 300 people died, making it the worst loss of life on open water in Great Lakes history, and the tragedy later helped spur rules requiring running lights on sailing vessels.
Vessel
- 1851
- Bidwell and Banta
- Buffalo, New York
- Wood
- 252 ft
- 32.66 ft
- 1037.7
- Steam, sidewheel
- Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard
Loss
- September 8, 1860
- Collision
- Lake Michigan off Port Clinton (now Highland Park/Highwood), Illinois
- Lake Michigan
- Chicago, Illinois → Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Not established
- 400
- 300
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Broken apart; scattered debris field
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- 42.18° N 87.65° W
- Approximate position
- Highland Park, Illinois
Position reflects the general area of loss reported historically, not a precise verified wreck survey.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (80/100)
The exact death toll and precise wreck position are not firmly established in the sources reviewed.
Wisconsin Historical Society
Vessel history and loss circumstances.
Rescue account and shoreline details.
