With many events this week marking the 50th anniversary of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sinking on November 10, 1975 in Lake Superior, I spent part of my weekend visiting Dossin Great Lakes Museum at Belle Isle State Park in Detroit.
The museum has a number of displays and artifacts where you can learn about the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking, but the one artifact that everyone sees before they enter the museum is the deep-red anchor.
In 1974, one year before the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior, it was at anchor in the Detroit River when it lost its starboard bow anchor in the waters east of Detroit’s Renaissance Center.
Using a metal locating device in May 1992, divers found the anchor and in July 1992 the 12,290 pound anchor was recovered. It now displays as part of the Lost Mariners Memorial honoring all lives lost on the inland seas.
The tiles in the outside patio surrounding the anchor include names of the crew members lost when the Edmund Fitzgerald sank 50 years ago 17 miles from Whitefish Bay on November 10, 1975.
If you’re interesting, a number of S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald 50th anniversary memorial events (both in-person and virtual) are being held in Michigan, Ohio, and Minnesota.
