New Memorial Marks 50th Anniversary of Loss of Edmund Fitzgerald
The tragic loss of bulk carrier Edmund Fitzgerald is set to be permanently engraved in a marker, five decades after it sank with the loss of all hands.
On the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior, a group in Superior, Wisconsin, called the Friends of the Fitz is seeking to raise $7,000 to purchase a Wisconsin Historical Society marker to honor the bulker and her crew.
The marker would be installed on Barkers Island, since Superior was the last port of call for Edmund Fitzgerald. The story of the vessel's loss is a maritime legend in the Great Lakes: the bulker sank on the evening of November 10, 1975, during a particularly rough storm on Lake Superior. There were no survivors amongst the ship’s 29 crew.
Plans to erect the marker come days after Superior Mayor Jim Paine proclaimed 2025 as the “Year of the Fitz”, setting the stage for commemorative events to remember the sinking of the ship, which was a constant presence on Lake Superior for 17 years. Her wreck is located some 17 miles north-northwest of Whitefish Point, Michigan.
Built in 1958, the 729-foot-long Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest and fastest Great Lakes ship of her era. Sometimes called the Mighty Fitz or Big Fitz, the ship set multiple records for the largest season-hauls and was the first lake freighter built to the maximum St. Lawrence Seaway size. The vessel had a capacity of 26,000 tonnes.
During her productive life of service, Edmund Fitzgerald carried taconite iron ore from mines near Duluth, Minnesota, to iron works in Detroit, Toledo and other Great Lakes ports. Her tragic sinking occurred in 1975 after embarking on a voyage from Superior, Wisconsin, near Duluth carrying a full cargo of ore pellets with Captain Ernest M. McSorley in command.
On November 10, the ship was caught in a severe storm on Lake Superior, with near hurricane-force winds and waves up to 35 feet (11 meters). In these extreme conditions, she took on water and sank quickly, with the loss of all hands. Investigators were later determined that the probable cause of the accident was the sudden massive flooding of the cargo hold due to the collapse of one or more hatch covers.
“There are so many memorials out there and ways that other communities have remembered their real part in the Edmund Fitzgerald’s history and Superior is no different,” said Jenny Van Sickle, Superior City Councilor. “So the Friends of the Fitz are raising money in order to purchase and install our own official marker here in Superior.”
The historical marker will be another piece of artifact that will help keep the memories of Edmund Fitzgerald and her crew alive for decades. It will join the ship’s 200-pound bronze bell, which was recovered in July 1995 and is now on display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. The ship’s bow anchor is on display at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum.