DETROIT (WXYZ) — Monday marks the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the freighter S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, which went down during a storm on Lake Superior claiming the lives of all 29 crew members on board.

The Edmund Fitzgerald was built in Detroit and was the largest ship constructed at the time, measuring 729 feet in length. For 17 years, she made over 6,000 trips on the Great Lakes before her final voyage 50 years ago.

"The ship was built to be the biggest and the best and it was for the 17 years it was running," said Joel Stone, retired Dossin Great Lakes Museum curator.

On Nov. 10, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald departed Wisconsin bound for a steel mill in Detroit carrying 29 tons of iron ore. The freighter sank in a fierce storm 17 miles north of Whitefish Point in Canadian waters o

See Full Page