A somber anniversary Friday. The Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior 48 years ago during a storm on November 10th, 1975 with the loss of the entire crew of 29 men.
When launched on June 7th, 1958 the Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest ship on North America's Great Lakes and remains the largest to have sunk there.
Every year on the 10th of November, the beacon at Split Rock is lighted to commemorate the sinking of the freighter, and all the other vessels lost on the Great Lakes.
At 4:30 p.m., the lighthouse will close temporarily while the names of the crew members are read to the tolling of a ship's bell. Following the ceremony, the beacon will be lit, and the tower will be open again to tour. You can watch the entire ceremony here.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was located in deep water on November 14th, 1975 by a US navy aircraft. Lake Superior is the largest and most treacherous of the Great Lakes. It contains about 350 wrecks, with about 50 of those in Minnesota waters. It is estimated that as many as 10,000 shipwrecks lie at the bottom of all the Great Lakes.
The Edmund Fitzgerald is the most famous of all Great Lakes' shipwrecks and the most recent to have a loss of life.
The shipwreck was given a massive publicity boost across North America when the Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot released "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" in 1976. It was a number one hit in Canada and reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Lightfoot has said it was his "finest work".
From 1910 to 1969, the Split Rock beacon light flashed each night at 10-second intervals across more than 20 miles of Lake Superior's navigable waters. Today, U.S. Coast Guard regulations prohibit the light being used for maritime traffic, but the beacon is still turned on occasionally for ceremonial and maintenance purposes.