MILITARY · HISTORICAL MARKER
S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald
Ontario
· Anchor
Military
4
One evening in 1974, the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald anchored at the Detroit River's Belle Isle Anchorage, 800 feet off Riopelle Street, east of the Renaissance Center. The next morning, as the crew worked to raise the starboard bow anchor, a chain link separated, and the 12,290 pound anchor remained on the bottom of the Detroit River. The following year, the Edmund Fitzgerald was lost at sea during a storm on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. Divers discovered the anchor on May 20, 1992 with the help of a proton magnetometer. After much planning, it was removed from the water on July 20 and brought to the Dossin Great Lakes Museum the following day. The recovery was shown on live television, and thousands came to see the anchor in the following weeks. Since November 10, 2000, the 25th anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald's sinking, the anchor has been the centerpiece for memorial events honoring her crew and all mariners lost in service on the lakes. Since its recovery, it has also been the focal point of the Lost Mariners Remembrance program every November 10th, with participation by more than 30 Canadian and American organizations, making it the only international Fitzgerald remembrance.
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