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The Edmund Fitzgerald and its anchor to Detroit's history
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Photo courtesy NOAA- Bob Campbell, Grand Ledge, from Wikimedia Commons
Detroit, located as it is on the Detroit River, has always been connected to and even dependant upon commercial shipping on the Great Lakes. Since its founding in 1701 the city has been a major port of call on the lakes, and has seen hundreds of thousands of vessels pass by its shores. Therefore, it is fitting that probably the most famous vessel lost on the Great Lakes in modern times left a piece of itself here before its demise.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was launched June 7th, 1958 at the Great Lakes Engineering Works in Ecorse, Michigan. This gargantuan of the freshwater, the largest Great Lakes ship at the time of her launching, was a good worker for her owners, the Columbia Transportation Division of the Oglebay Norton Company (which just recently closed its doors) and set several cargo records over the years. It also was a favorite of ship watchers up and down the Great Lakes for her size and her beautiful design.
The Fitzgerald's Anchor just after it was recovered. Author's collection.
The ship came to national attention when on this date, November 10th, 1975, she was sailing across Lake Superior in a Fall storm and disappeared without warning. Despite a vessel close behind her and the relative closeness of the safety of the calmer waters of Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior, there would be no survivors, nor any idea of what actually happened to her. Shortly afterward her hull was discovered in two pieces on the bottom of the lake: the front, or bow portion upright; the rear, or stern, section upside down. To this day there are many theories on what caused her to sink, but no one will likely be able to prove conclusively. This ship and its loss were shortly after memorialized in the famous Gordon Lightfoot song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” as well as through an annual memorial service for sailors lost in the Great Lakes at Old Mariners Church in Detroit that developed after the ship’s sinking.
The anchor moored in its permanent location on the museum's grounds. Author's collection.
What does this all have to do with Detroit? Well, on January 7th, 1974, the Fitzgerald lost one of her anchors while departing an anchorage point near Belle Isle. In 1992, the Great Lakes Maritime Institute’s (Dossin Great Lakes Museum) dive team decided to recover this piece of history and to bring it to the museum for display and to develop a fundraising project for the museum. The anchor was found, after several attempts, on May 17th of that year, and a fundraising program to raise it quickly was established. On July 20th, 1992, live on WDIV in Detroit, the anchor was raised where it had lain for eighteen years. This remarkable piece of maritime history was quickly placed on the museum property on Belle Isle. It was later given a more permanent position of display on the grounds, near the museum entrance, with plaques commemorating the crew as well as those donors whose contributions were essential to bringing this artifact into the light of day once again.. It remains one of the most popular exhibits at the museum to this day.
On a personal note, the raising of this anchor had a profound impact on this author. As a boy, I watched the anchor being raised during the live broadcast on WDIV, and it sparked a great fascination in this vessel and its history, which later expanded to all Great Lakes Maritime, past and present, as well as deepened this author’s love of history. It was a turning point in my life.
The Edmund Fitzgerald’s anchor can be seen on the grounds of the Dossin Museum during its open hours. It is well worth the visit; if you do, remember that what you're looking at is not just a piece of metal, but a piece of a ship lost in a wild storm 34 years ago.
Sources: Van Der Linden, Rev. Peter, ed. Great Lakes Ships we Remember, Revised Edition
Sillars, Mal. Portion of Robert E. Lee’s Edmund Fitzgerald 1957-1975
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