The Michigan Maritime Museum lecture series continues November 13th with Lost on the Lady Elgin given by presenter Valerie van Heest. When van Heest’s hand touched the wood stock of a musket laying in a field of debris on the bottom of Lake Michigan from the once palatial sidewheel steamer Lady Elgin, it ignited a passion for the study of the ship’s tragic sinking on September 8, 1860, off Highland Park. Now 164 years after the worst disaster on the open waters of the Great Lakes, Valerie Van Heest, takes the audience back in time to the era of passenger travel on the Great Lakes, to the eve of a presidential election, to the brink of Civil War, and to stormy night when more than 300 people lost their lives on the Lady Elgin. This multi-media presentation, with an accident reenactment and underwater footage, explores the ethical dilemmas surrounding the shipwreck incident, the discovery of its wreckage in 1989, and a 10-year court battle over ownership of the wreck.
Valerie van Heest of Holland, Michigan, is a maritime historian, award-winning author, museum exhibit designer, and a co-founder of the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association. She is also an inductee in the Women Divers Hall of Fame and can frequently be found beneath Lake Michigan exploring our states submerged maritime history, or in lecture halls sharing her adventures. In that capacity she has appeared on episodes of National Geographic, Science, Travel, and History Channels’ television series.
The Historical Society of Michigan honored her with a State History Award in 2007 for her efforts in preserving and promoting Michigan’s maritime history, and a decade later, the Association for Great Lakes Maritime History recognized her thirty years of work with the Joyce C. Hayward Award for Historical Interpretation. She has written eight books: the new edition of Lost on the Lady Elgin, will be available for purchase and book signing at the lecture.
This lecture series is made possible thanks to the Nielsen-Wells Grant Fund and Mike and Susan Smith. Tickets are free for Museum members and $10 for non-members. For more information about the Museum’s events, please visit: https://www.michiganmaritimemuseum.org/events/.
Event Details
Lecture Series- Lost on the Lady Elgin
Date: Wednesday, November 13, 2024
Time: 6:30 – 7:30 pm
Location: 260 Dyckman Avenue, South Haven, MI 49090
Cost: Free to members/$10 non-members