Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum

Light House

Are you a big fan of shipwrecks?  Do you enjoy the history of Ships past and how or why they wrecked?  Ever wonder what all was recovered from the famous wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald?  The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point Michigan, just North of Paradise may be of interest to you.

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum

The Whitefish Point Light Station was built in 1861 and is the oldest operating lighthouse on Lake Superior. It has stood guard on the eastern end of an 80 mile shoreline known as Lake Superior’s Shipwreck Coast for over 150 years. There are at least 200 of the 550 known major shipwrecks on Lake Superior that lie within or near Whitefish Bay. The most famous of these shipwrecks, the Edmund Fitzgerald, laid to rest 17 miles northwest of Whitefish Point in 1975. The Great Lake Shipwreck
Museum displays the rich maritime history of the region.

bell from The Edmond Fitzgerald

The keepers Quarters Dwelling attached to the light has been fully restored and is open for tours.  It was constructed in 1861 at the order of President Lincoln.  The exhibits inside reflect the life of the light-keeper and his family at the turn of the century.


One of the guard stations was transformed into the Shipwreck museum that has all kinds of exhibits that were recovered from shipwrecks in the area.  There is an entire section dedicated to the Edmond Fitzgerald.  In 1995, the Bell was recovered from the Edmond Fitzgerald, which now is on display as a memorial to her lost crew.




                                                                            
For More information please visit:
http://www.exploringthenorth.com/shipmus/shipmuseum.html  or http://www.exploringthenorth.com/whitefish/whitefish.html


Pictures from above sites as well as:
 http://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/memorial-ceremony-127/