Sinking of the SS Cedarville

Built in 1927, the SS Cedarville was a bulk carrier (a merchant ship designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo. The ship carried limestone on the Great Lakes in North America in the mid-20th Century. On a foggy 7 May 1965, the 50th anniversary of the Lusitania sinking, the Cedarville was travelling between Rogers City in Michigan and Gary, Indiana (the birthplace of the Jackson family including singer Michael Jackson) while carrying 14,411 long tons (14,642 t) of Limestone when, due to miscommunication between the Norwegian ship named MV Topdalsfjord, Cedarville collided with the Topdalsfjord, creating a hole in Cedarville's hull. The SS Cedarville. sank after listing to starboard and rolling on its side. The ship took 10 of its 35 crewmen with it into the Straits of Mackinac which are narrow waterways between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.