At 9:45 a.m. on Friday, May 7, 1965, two ships collided in dense fog in the middle of the Straits of Mackinac. One of them, the limestone-carrying freighter Cedarville, capsized and sank approximately 40 minutes later just off Old Mackinac Point. Fifty years later, the loss of Cedarville remains the one of the worst maritime disasters in the straits, claiming 10 lives.
The sinking features prominently in the Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Museum at Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, which includes two 1:48 scale models of Cedarville. Each nearly 13 feet long, the models depict Cedarville as she appeared while sailing in 1965 and as a wreck on the bottom of the straits. The wreck model details the damage sustained in the collision, as well as the twisting forces of the sinking as Cedarville rolled over. The models are surrounded by artifacts recovered from the wreck, including a life ring and an engine room telegraph. Constructed in Pennsylvania by a specialized exhibit fabricator, the models represent the combined work of historians, archivists, divers, exhibit designers, and others from Mackinac State Historic Parks and the Straits of Mackinac Underwater Preserve.
On the 50th anniversary of the sinking, we hope you’ll join us at the Straits of Mackinac Shipwreck Museum to view these models and artifacts, and to learn more about Cedarville and the men who lived and died when she sank.
