When she first laid eyes on a musket among the shattered remains of the once-palatial sidewheel steamer Lady Elgin, it sparked a lifelong passion to understand one of the Great Lakes’ most devastating tragedies. In September 1860, the Lady Elgin sank in Lake Michigan, claiming the lives of more than 300 passengers — the deadliest disaster on the open waters of the Great Lakes. Van Heest explores the dramatic circumstances surrounding the sinking and the ethical dilemmas regarding its last excursion and its modern discovery, fueled by the recovery of gold. She also shares a deeply personal ethical dilemma of her own, after being entrusted with a recovered pocket watch belonging to the most prominent victim ever lost on the inland seas. That responsibility ultimately took her to England in an undertaking that seemed predestined.

**Books will be available for purchase and signing after the lecture.

Subject: history

Valerie van Heest is the director of the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association and an inductee of the Women Divers Hall of Fame whose work has contributed to the discovery and archaeological documentation of numerous historic Great Lakes shipwrecks. She shares her work and adventures through her numerous books, magazine articles, museum exhibits, lectures, and television appearances. She is the 2025 Great Lakes Marine Historian of the Year and a recipient of honors from the Association of Great Lakes Maritime History, the Michigan Historical Society, and DAR for her contributions to preserving and promoting Great Lakes maritime heritage. Just this year her high school inducted her into its Alumni Hall of Honor.