The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society will hold two separate 50th Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial ceremonies at Whitefish Point on Monday, November 10th, 2025. A ceremony for the general public will take place at 2:00 PM, and a ceremony for family members only will take place at 7:00 PM, which will be livestreamed for the public.
PLEASE NOTE: There will be NO tent or seating setup for the public ceremony, as November can have volatile weather that would cause more harm than good. There is limited parking at Whitefish Point, so visitors should be prepared to park along the shoulder of the road prior to reaching Whitefish Point, and walk to the ceremony.
Under no circumstances will the evening ceremony for the family members of the Edmund Fitzgerald be open to the public.
The evening ceremony will be live streamed, with the link made available prior to the ceremony via our website and social media channels.
About the Ship
The S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald was conceived as a business enterprise of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Northwestern Mutual contracted with Great Lakes Engineering Works of Ecorse, Michigan to construct a “maximum sized” Great Lakes bulk carrier. Her keel was laid on August 7, 1957 as Hull No. 301.
Named after the President and Chairman of the Board of Northwestern Mutual, Fitzgerald was launched June 8, 1958 at River Rouge, Michigan. Northwestern Mutual placed her under permanent charter to the Columbia Transportation Division of Oglebay Norton Company, Cleveland, Ohio. At 729 feet and 13,632 gross tons she was the largest ship on the Great Lakes, for thirteen years, until 1971.
The Fitzgerald’s normal course during her productive life took her between Silver Bay, Minnesota, where she loaded taconite, to steel mills on the lower lakes in the Detroit and Toledo area. She was usually empty on her return trip to Silver Bay. On November 9, 1975 Fitzgerald was to transport a load of taconite from Superior, Wisconsin, to Zug Island, Detroit, Michigan.
Learn more at: https://shipwreckmuseum.com
Comments
