The sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald is a tragedy that is remembered with reverence and intrigue across the Great Lakes every year.

Twenty-nine sailors lost their lives on November 10, 1975, and the exact cause of the sinking remains a mystery. Gordon Lightfoot’s epic retelling, “The Wreckage of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” firmly placed the story of the Fitz’s in the national public consciousness.

But, the Edmund Fitzgerald—the largest freighter on the Great Lakes at the time— was always part of Detroit history. It was built, christened, and launched in the Detroit River. It carried record-breaking loads of iron ore and was known as a workhorse in Great Lakes shipping. It’s intended stop before sinking was Zug Island.

This year marks 50 years since the Edmund Fitzgerald sank, and the ship’s Detroit connection took center stage at several events over the weekend.

Victoria Stewart is Assistant Director of the Humanities Center at Wayne State University.

She created a pop-up exhibition “The Gales of November, Remembered: Detroit and the Edmund Fitzgerald.” It was on display at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum and Mariners’ Church in Downtown Detroit to commemorate 50 years since the ship sank in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975.

Stewart spoke to The Metro about the ship’s Detroit connections and the timelessness of it’s story.

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