Split Rock

The date was November 10. The anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, the ill fated 729 foot ore carrier that had loaded at the docks in Superior, Wisconsin and headed downbound across the big lake past Split Rock Lighthouse to be swallowed up by Lake Superior during a massive storm on November 10, 1975 with the loss of all 29 hands. As historic site manager for the Minnesota Historical Society and resident keeper at Split Rock Lighthouse I have lit the beacon on the eve of November tenth for the last six years as a tribute to the ship and crew. Because Split Rock is a decommissioned light and no longer officially used as a navigational aid, the U.S. Coast Guard has stipulated that the Minnesota Historical Society can light the beacon if we follow three conditions: (1) reduce the wattage from its original 1000 watts, (2) adjust the beam slightly out of focus from the horizon, and (3) do not follow a regular schedule when lighting the beacon.