Split Rock Lighthouse
Additional Background
The Sinking of the "Edmund Fitzgerald"
In November of 1975, the 729-foot-long freighter, the "Edmund Fitzgerald," left Superior, Wis., headed for Detroit with 26,000 tons of taconite. On November 28, while still en route, the ship encountered a gale for which the lake is notorious. The resulting wreck is a tragic part of great lakes history.
Split Rock Lighthouse historic site commemorates the sinking of the great ship each year in November by lighting the beacon in the lighthouse. The lighthouse and fog-signal building are open for visitors to tour, and presentations on Lake Superior shipping, navigation and storms - including a video about the Fitzgerald - play throughout the afternoon. In mid-afternoon, tours stop while the names of the 29 lost sailors are read and the lighthouse bell rings 29 times. Then the beacon is lit. November 10th is the only day during the year that visitors may see the beacon lit from the inside of the structure.
The 1975 storm that doomed the "Edmund Fitzgerald" was matched by a series of misfortunes of radar and equipment failures and, perhaps, bad judgment. Although not far from his destination when the storm hit, Capt. Ernest McSorley headed north across Lake Superior, seeking what he thought would be the shelter of the Canadian shore and Whitefish Bay. The "Arthur M. Anderson," within 10 miles of the Fitzgerald, soon received reports that the ship was listing, and at 7:10 p.m. the Anderson crew heard Capt. McSorley's final message: "We're holding our own." The Anderson lost the Fitzgerald's image on its radar screens at 7:25 p.m., and shortly thereafter, the Fitzgerald ship and crew were lost to the stormy waters.
