Maritime Museum Expands Hours of “Edmund Fitzgerald” Exhibit

Fitzgerald model. Submitted.

The Door County Maritime Museum’s commemorative exhibit to the 40th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald has expanded hours.

Due to public demand, the exhibit will be open weekends now through Dec. 18, a period when it was originally planned to be closed due to the Merry-Time Festival of Trees. The exhibit, located in the Reddin Bridge Room of the Sturgeon Bay museum, will be open on select weekdays during that period so make sure to check with the museum as to the exhibit’s availability.

The wreck, made famous for the mysterious conditions under which the 729-ft. freighter sank and further elevated in the public’s conscience by Gordon Lightfoot’s hit song, remains the most significant sinking in Great Lakes history.

The sinking on Nov. 10, 1975 has particular ties to Door County since the vessel had a number of winter layovers in Sturgeon Bay. Even more significant was the fact that two of the 29 lives lost in the tragedy, Oliver “Buck” Champeau and Russell Haskell, grew up in Sturgeon Bay.

Highlights include a deck light and life jacket given to the museum when the Edmund Fitzgerald was in Sturgeon Bay for off-season work. A video featuring radio conversations recorded on Nov. 10, 1975 discussing the possible sinking and rescue attempts is another intriguing aspect of the presentation. Artwork of the Fitzgerald from the museum’s collection is also interspersed throughout the exhibit.

Additional artifacts have been added to the exhibit while on display. One is a searchlight from the Arthur M. Anderson which was sailing near the Fitzgerald and an eight-foot model of the “Fitz” crafted by Jerry Guenther, whose model of the Titanic was the centerpiece of the museum’s 100th commemorative exhibit of its sinking in 2012. For more information visit dcmm.org.