Keep the legend alive
The 50th anniversary of the sinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald
This site is your single source to explore all things Fitz. Immerse yourself in the story, including time and place.
Feel the Fitz story. Listen to the song.
Nothing will bring you closer to this story with the immediacy and impact of listening to the Gordon Lightfoot song, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." I like this version because of the archival footage running in the background, the newsreel footage introducing it, and the added communications during the song. However, if you want to hear the song in its original, clean form, go here.
The Fitz story in brief
On November 10, 1975, fifty years ago this year, the lake ore carrier, S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, sank in a storm that unexpectedly generated near-hurricane-force winds on Michigan's Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world. The circumstances surrounding the sinking have been in hot debate ever since that night.
Twenty-nine men went down with the Fitz. No survivors or remains have ever been found. Gordon Lightfoot immortalized the event just ten months later with the release of "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," which remains popular and in heavy rotation on classic rock stations. The song is incredibly faithful to the facts, while also creating an emotional attachment to the story that haunts those who grew up on it or have given it a serious listen.
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For much more, The Story.
Directing you to the best Fitz content on the web and elsewhere
There's a ton of content out there about the Fitz. Most of it is mediocre, at best. The point of this site is to guide you to the best content I've run across in my five years of working on a Fitz-related project. Even picking out the best doesn't guarantee high production value. This is a story that hasn't been given the all-star treatment yet (although, this year, more content is in the works).
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The full Fitz story isn't just about what happened that night. It's seeped in a time and place. To feel the story, you've got to place yourself in northern Michigan, Wisconsin or Minnesota during the months leading up to November 10, 1975. Explore the full site to get your head into the framework of the story.
Due to the immersive nature of this site and the amount of content, it is best viewed on a tablet, desktop or laptop.
A special thanks to these contributors to the Fitz historical record
Without their obsession, dedication and hard work (as you'll find out, even Gordan Lightfoot agonized over his telling), the story of the Fitz and its crew would most likely be to the general public nothing more than an entry in a shipwreck compendium. Below are the writers, researchers artists, enthusiasts and influencers who have in their search for truth built and maintained the legend. We thank them.
